Water Rush
by Abbasanrox
Summary: Gajeel didn't know what came over him but he was suddenly very, very angry. Angry that something had upset Lillian so deeply. Angry he didn't know how to help and he was shocked to realize how protective of her he was as held her tighter. Her sobs had shaken him to his core because he knew them. Those cries of pain and loss, not just of a person, but of losing a part of yourself.
1. First Encounter

**A/N:** Hey everyone! So I've decided to dabble with a story in the world of fairy tail! I ran out of episodes to watch so I decided to try and create my own character into the story! With college, my other story, and not having too many ideas at the moment for this story, I'm not sure how often I'll update. For now, I'll write when I have ideas. Hope you enjoy!

I do not own Fairy Tail, unfortunately.

* * *

"For such an easy job, 1,000 jewels was a lot." Lillian spoke aloud to herself, arms behind her head casually.

She had just finished a job of hunting down robbers in Tully Village when she finally entered the town of Magnolia. She smiled when the familiar sounds and smells began to waft around her as she walked through the always bustling town. She sported her usual outfit of a simple knee length dress that matched her blue eyes and knee high boots, which were her favorite. Her guild mates always tried to tell her that that wasn't great fighting wear, but shut up when she questioned another's usual short skirt and low top. Lillian pushed her waist length white hair from her face as she bent down to smell the freshly baked goods from her favorite vendor.

"Oh, hello Lillian. I haven't seen you in a few weeks." The woman behind the stand smiled as she began to pack up Lillian's usual.

"Hi Miranda, and yea I've been out on a job." She said smiling back at the woman. "It was kind of far, but it paid good so it worked out well."

The vendor's expression became serious as she finished packing up Lillian's food and leaned forward. "Oh my. Then you don't know what happened, do you?"

Lillian paused as she was setting the money down and looked at the woman, raising an eyebrow curiously.

"What do you mean? What happened?" Lillian asked as she started becoming nervous.

"Well you see, earlier this week a dark guild attacked Fairy Tail, leaving it in ruins an- Wait Lillian!" She yelled.

The woman didn't get to finish her story before Lillian had taken off running towards Fairy Tail, leaving the goods and money behind. Her heart was racing as she sprinted through town, the people only seeing a flash of white light go by.

"No no no. This can't be true." Lillian thought out loud, trying to calm her own heart.

The black guild mark on her shoulder blade began to burn as she thought about what could have happened to her friends, her family... She shut her mind off at the thought. They would all be fine, they're Fairy Tail wizards after all. As she rounded the corner a gasp pulled itself from her as she looked at the brand new guild hall in front of her.

"Hey Lil! How was your mission?" A cocky grin appeared in front of Lillian with a just as cocky attitude attached to it.

A boy of about 27 stood in front of her, towering her by a good foot with playful blue hair on his head. Muscles were easily seen through his cotton white tank top and cargo pants and his brown eyes sparkled with laughter as he began to ruffle Lillian's hair.

"Don't 'Hey Lil' me, what the hell happened here Simon?" She huffed as she pushed his hand away to pat her hair back down. "And you know I hate it when you do that." But she couldn't help but smile a bit.

His smile widened as he looked back at the guild then back at Lillian

"Phantom Lord attacked us and wanted us all dead." Lillian's eyes widen at Simon's words and he smiled more. "Obviously we won, and luckily no one was fatally wounded. Plus we built this awesome new guild!" Simon exclaimed as he gestured with his right arm earning a sigh from Lillian.

Simon was her brother so she was used to this loud behavior. Lillian rolled her turquoise eyes as Simon began pulling her into the guild.

"Alright alright. Are you sure everything's okay? I'm so sorry I wasn't here to help." Lillian said in between laughs before making Simon stop dragging her.

Simon shrugged and laughed while stopping to look at her. "Hey no worries. I'm actually glad you weren't here. But," he looked back towards inside the guild. "We got a couple new members since you left."

Lillian perked up, always loving to meet new members. "Really? Who? What are their powers?" she asked.

Simon gave her a knowing look and crossed his arms at his younger sister staring her down.

"What?" Lillian asked guiltily looking anywhere but his face.

Simon rolled his eyes as he thumped her on the head, receiving a scowl from her in return.

"No fighting the new members." Simon raised his hand to cut Lillian off as she opened her mouth to speak. "Nuh uh, no. Everyone's already on edge because they're both from Phantom Lord." Lillian's face became one of worry, wondering what the master was thinking, when Simon continued. "The girl, Juvia, she seems to have already been accepted by everyone. Nobody blames her or harbors bad feelings towards her, including me."

"But..?" Lillian asked.

Simon sighed scratching his head and biting at his lower lip, a habit that Lillian also had when she was unsure of something. "Well, I don't want you to have any preconceived thoughts about the guy, Gajeel. He's actually not that bad of a guy, just kind of rough around the edges." Lillian smiled at her brother, always admiring him for his big heart. "Juvia really wanted us all to give him a chance. He's only spoken with me a few times, but compared to how much he talks with everyone else that makes me like his best friend." Simon shrugged at his sister, sighing in defeat. "But other than me, the master, Mira, and a few others, everyone just wants to yell and fight with him." he shook his head "I just don't think it's right."

Lillian reached out and hugged her brother, hating how much this was hurting him.

"Hey, don't worry. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt." Lillian told Simon with a smile.

He smiled back before beginning to drag her inside again.

"You'll probably learn quickly what he's done, but hopefully you can meet him first." Simon muttered quietly as they entered the guild hall.

The usual laughter and fighting could be heard all around Lillian. She breathed it all in, having missed it on her three week journey. Her and Simon had only been a part of Fairy Tail for about two weeks before she took that job, so she didn't get much time to take it all in yet. Now the sight before her was completely different. The upper level was larger and it seemed anyone could go up there, evident by Natsu yelling about how none of the S-Class jobs seemed awesome enough. Simon dragged her up to the bar where Mirajane was hand drying glasses and she gave the two siblings a smile.

"Hello Lillian, Simon." Mirajane smiled and nodded at both of them as they smiled back.

"Hey Mira, Simon's caught me up on most of what's happened. The place looks awesome!" Lillian said looking around her. "And where are these new members? I'd love to meet them."

Mirajane's smile widened as she pointed towards a group of their guild mates, consisting of Lucy, Natsu, Happy, and Gray, who seemed to have another body attached to him.

Lillian smiled and happily walked over to the group, earning multiple 'hey's and 'what's up's from within. She stopped in front of Juvia who was currently gawking over a half naked Gray.

"Dammit Gray, where are your clothes?" Lillian asked, hands on her hips.

"What?" Gray asked, then looked down at himself. "What the hell?!" he yelled, quickly putting a shirt on.

Lillian rolled her eyes before putting a hand out towards Juvia, a woman with blue air that went to her pale shoulders and giant dark blue eyes. "Hi there, my names Lillian Knottspear, you must be Juvia. I'm so happy you've joined Fairy Tail."

Juvia stood and smiled back at Lillian shaking her hand. "Juvia Lockser. Juvia is very grateful that the master is so gracious and let me and my comrade join your guild."

Juvia looked over Lillian's form, assessing her as an enemy. She had slightly curvy hips and a normal sized bust that complemented her shorter frame. Juvia looked between Lillian and Lucy, deciding she wasn't as outright with her body as the blond and smiled.

"Juvia has decided you are not a threat at being able to steal my Gray," she said, causing Gray and Lillian to sweat drop. "therefore we will be the best of friends!" Juvia yelled hugging Lillian tightly to her body.

"J-Juvia... air... I need..." Lillian gasped before Juvia set her down.

Lillian gasped for air, but smiled at the women. She was a little awkward, and scary when it came to Gray, but she instantly liked her. She made a mental note to ask her about her powers later, because curiosity was eating her up inside.

"So, you and your comrade? Where's he at?" Lillian asked, trying to be as casual as possible.

"Oh, you must mean Gajeel" Juvia laughed awkwardly. "Juvia's sure he's around here somewhere."

Lillian raised an eye brow and looked around the guild, trying to pick out a face she didn't recognize. Her eyes finally landed on a lone dark figure in the back corner of the guild. He was casually munching on some form of metal as he watched the exchange between the two girls. Lillian inwardly shuddered at the dark look on his face and turned back to Juvia.

"Is he that scary looking guy over there?" Lillian asked, curiosity taking over her fear.

Juvia nodded.

"Well, then I'm gonna go introduce myself." Lillian said, throwing on a big smile.

Before she could take a step forward, both Gray and Natsu grabbed her wrists. She looked back at them annoyed at them for holding her back.

"Hey, don't get involved with that guy Lillian." Gray said darkly.

"For once I agree with Ice Brain. He's bad news." Natsu said, shooting an angry look at Gajeel across the hall, which he ignored and proceeded to eat more metal.

"Everyone please give Gajeel a chance." Juvia pleaded. "He and Juvia were both lost. Juvia knows he looks mean but he's just not good with others."

Both Gray and Natsu turned to begin yelling at Juvia when Lillian shook both of them off her. They looked up at her in surprise and went to yell at her too.

"Stop it." Lillian said, cutting them off. "I don't know what he did, and I don't want to know yet. It isn't fair to judge others by their past actions. If you're mad at him, why aren't you guys mad at Juvia?"

"Because she helped us on another job." Lucy said quietly, not wanting to get yelled at. "And she genuinely seems sorry. Gajeel just worries me a little." she said sadly.

Lillian sighed, deciding Lucy was being more reasonable than Gray and Natsu. She crossed her arms and shrugged.

"Well, for some reason the master wanted him to join, and as a fellow member I'm going to go say hello." Lillian said as she turned around and began walking towards Gajeel.

Natsu began to stand to follow her but Lucy held him back. "She'll be fine Natsu. I'm more scared for Gajeel than I am for her, knowing how she can get."

Natsu sighed and nodding, knowing Lillian could hold her own.

Lillian walked right up to Gajeel as he was now reading a magazine and still eating. The black haired mage didn't so much as glance up when she walked up to him. Lillian cleared her throat but he still made no move to look at her. She narrowed her eyes and began poking him on the arm. Lillian noticed how he had metal studs sticking out all over his body as well as a black Fairy Tail mark on his shoulder. Letting out a puff of air he finally looked up at the girl standing beside him.

"What?" Gajeel asked, his voice coming out rough and annoyed.

Lillian smiled, proud she was finally able to make him look at her. She stuck her hand out, still smiling.

"Welcome to Fairy Tail, my name's Lillian Knottspear. And you are?" Lillian said.

Gajeel just looked at the woman, slightly surprised she wasn't there to yell at him, before grunting back.

"Gajeel." he said, turning back to his magazine.

Lillian narrowed her eyes at the man. "Eh hem." she said, trying to get his attention, her hand still out.

"What?" he said again, not looking up this time.

"In most greetings, the two people shake hands. And since mines out, I'm not going anywhere till I get a proper introduction." Lillian said.

Gajeel rolled his eyes. What was with this girl? And why was she so annoying? Almost the whole guild was watching the exchange, wondering what the hell Lillian was doing. Some had begun to stand, ready to jump in if Gajeel tried anything funny on the girl. After a few minutes of silence he sighed and looked back at Lillian to see she still had her arm out and a calm look on her face.

"Fine." he huffed, putting his arm out to grasp her small hand in his, shaking it. "Gajeel Redfox."

Lillian beamed and dropped his hand before she sat at the table in the seat across from him, receiving a growl from Gajeel.

"What do you think you're doing?" He asked, but his words didn't have as much bite as he wanted them to.

Lillian shrugged putting her chin in her hand and pointed at the metal.

"What is that that you keep eating?" She asked as he took another bite of it.

"What does it look like? It's iron." He said rolling his red eyes.

She tilted her head and picked it up, beginning to examine it.

"You eat iron, that's kinda weird. Why?" She asked as he grabbed it back from her, eyes narrowed.

"Cause I'm an Iron Dragon Slayer. So, I eat iron. Get over it." he said, becoming annoyed with all her questions.

Most people never seemed to believe him, and he prepared to defend himself, but Lillian just perked up at the mention of his magic and smiled.

"You're really a dragon slayer?" she asked, receiving another grunt from Gajeel as his attention went back to his magazine.

Her smile widened as she slammed both her palms down on the table and stood, leaning closer to his face. He leaned back, wondering what had come over this crazy woman.

"Fight me." Lillian said, a shocked look on Gajeels' face. "You heard me, show me your magic. Come on!" she pleaded.

"No, damn get away from me." he said angrily, shoving the girl out of his face.

Lillian huffed in annoyance and shoved him back.

"Come on, just fight me! Unless you're afraid of all my 5'4"ness" She said, smirking and crossing her arms over her chest.

Gajeel growled but made no move to fight the woman. He didn't need the whole guild jumping on him for attacking one of their own. He didn't know why she wanted to fight him so badly, and suddenly became curious as to what her magic was.

"What makes you think you could even last more than two seconds against me?" Gajeel mocked, raising one iron-studded eyebrow.

Lillian just smiled and shrugged and began walking to the back door of the guild.

"Guess you'll have to come outside and find out." She smirked and walked out the door.

"What the hell?" Gajeel said to himself before looking around the guild.

Most of everyone had heard their exchange and were starting to make their way towards where Lillian had gone, knowing she meant business. Gajeel, being unaware that the girl had challenged everyone in the guild the first day she had joined, eventually decided to humor her and head outside. He was never one to turn down a good fight. Everyone was standing close to the guild, as far away from Lillian as possible, and moved to let Gajeel in front of her.

"Gi Hi, so, you think I'm really gonna fight you Princess?" Gajeel mocked as he looked at Lillian in her fighting stance.

Her smile widened as she gestured towards him and bowed.

"Ladies first." Lillian said with a smirk.

Gajeel growled before taking off towards her and began yelling,

"Iron Dragon's Iron Fist!" as his arm turned into a rod of iron set to hit Lillian in the stomach.

Waiting till the last second, she easily jumped over him, using his head as leverage to launch herself into the air.

"Water Dragon's Steaming Geyser!" Lillian yelled as she put her hands together to send out a large stream of boiling water towards Gajeel.

He yelled at the sudden temperature and was thrown back a few yards. He smiled to himself as he shook the water off him, excited for a challenge. He got to his feet as he began running, trying to catch her off guard. She watched him run back and fourth, beginning to struggle on keeping an eye on him.

"Iron Dragon's Roar!" Gajeel yelled sending a cyclone of iron towards Lillian's back.

Lillian shrieked as she was just barely able to dodge the attack, her arm getting cut by the iron, before she ran towards Gajeel. She began punching and kicking at him as he easily deflected her. They came to a headlock, holding both of their forearms against each other as they both growled and scowled at each other.

"Water Dragon's Roar!" Lillian yelled, catching Gajeel off guard and hitting him with the force of her magic.

He was thrown away from her and was headed right towards the guild wall when Gajeel was suddenly caught by a large Makarov who was scowling down at Lillian.

"What have I told you about fighting?" He roared. "Let us have this guild for more than a week before you destroy it!"

Lillian gulped and nodded her head, mumbling apologies as she looked to her feet. Makarov dropped Gajeel who landed on his butt with an 'Oof' before returning to his normal, tiny size.

"Alright shows over! Everyone back inside!" He yelled, everyone mumbling but following him inside.

Lillian was breathing hard as she lightly jogged over to where Gajeel still sat and put her hand out to him.

"That was a lot of fun! You're a really good fighter." She said smiling.

Gajeel ignored her hand as he stood up, brushing past her as he walked back inside. Lillian huffed and crossed her arms at his actions.

"Rude." she mumbled to herself, but was then swept up by two large arms.

"That was so awesome Lil!" Simon yelled, hugging the life out of his sister. "He seemed to actually make you break a sweat!" He laughed, poking her cheek.

Lillian swatted him away as she wiggled out of his arms.

"Ch, whatever. I was holding back cause he's new." She said arms crossed.

Simon just rolled his eyes, knowing Lillian loved the idea of someone who could keep up with her, and lead her back inside. Laughing Lillian lept up onto her brothers back, punching the air as he took her inside. He just shook his head as he held onto her legs to keep her from choking him as they walked up to the bar. Simon sat down on a stool, a still cheering Lillian on his back as Mirajane handed him a beer, laughing at the sight. Lillian rested her chin on the top of his head as she began to talk cheerily with Mirajane about her latest job. The guild went back to its merry atmosphere of laughing and drinking, no one noticing the Iron Dragon slip out the front door. When the door closed no one seemed to hear it, but Lillian sat up slightly and looked behind her, realizing Gajeel wasn't around.

"Hey, what is it?" Simon asked, feeling her tense up.

"Uh, nothing. I'll be right back." Lillian said, quickly jumping off Simon to chase after Gajeel.

Simon watched his sister go curiously before turning back around to see a grinning Mirajane.

"Mira, what do you know?" Simon asked, leaning toward the woman.

She just smiled and shrugged. "I think she could actually get him to become a part of the guild."

He just sipped his beer, eyeing the woman and her scheming smile.

Lillian had been unable to track Gajeel down after the first few minutes, so she decided to do some window shopping in town. She never fully got to look at everything and decided to stop inside a cute little music shop. The door chimed as she walked in and she began to examine the different records they had in boxes against the wall. Unbeknownst to her, Gajeel was in the back room terrified that the girl had come into the store. What the hell was she doing there? No one was supposed to know he worked there. If the rest of the guild found out, he wouldn't just be hated but become a laughing stock. Lillian picked up an album and began reading the back as Gajeel waited for her to leave. She looked around, curious as to why it seemed no one worked there. Worrying for a moment that she had come into a closed shop, Gajeel cursed as he accidentally knocked over a stack of boxes, spilling records all over the floor.

"Oh my gosh are you alright?" Lillian said, walking over to the mess. "Here, let me hel-... Gajeel?!" Lillian exclaimed.

Gajeel groaned as he began picking up records without looking up at her.

"Yea yea, I work here on the side. Moneys tight. Sue me." He said coldly as he continued cleaning.

Lillian bent down as she began helping put the correct records in their sleeves.

"I didn't know you liked music." Lillian said, a smile on her face.

Gajeel just grunted and shook his head at the woman.

"I don't know why you think you know anything about me. We just met today, we aren't friends." He retorted back.

Lillian nodded as she put a stack of records into a box and started babbling, as she usually did when she didn't know what to say.

"Hmm, then let's see." she began, "I'm Lillian, I'm 19, I love to fight and mess with my loud brother, Simon. You've met him. I'm a Water Dragon Slayer, raised by Nero from the time I was three, up until seven years ago when he disappeared." her face saddened at the thought of her father, causing Gajeel to pause in his work. "He was loud and obnoxious too, which is where I think Simon learned it from." Lillian smiled, Gajeel instantly decided he liked her better with a smile. "Simon and I traveled around for a long time, working in small shops every now and then to pay for somewhere to stay and something to eat. We never stayed too long in fear someone might try and put me in a home. Finally, about a month ago we came across Fairy Tail. We'd heard stories about them for years and it had been our dream to become one of them. When we showed up we were instantly welcomed with open arms."

Lillian sighed and shrugged looking up at Gajeel who had stopped cleaning to listen to her story. She blushed as he just kept staring at her, but eventually broke his stare to stack the boxes again like nothing happened. Swallowing in embarrassment she stood up and started making her way toward the door.

"I'm sorry I bothered you at work. And don't worry, I won't tell the others about this place." Lillian made a zipper motion over her lips then of throwing the key as she opened the door.

"If you need anyone to talk to about your dragon," Gajeel said, causing Lillian to pause in the doorway. "Uh, I don't have many answers, but maybe we can figure something out. Metalicana also disappeared seven years ago, so I know how you feel." he finished, hating himself for blurting the words out.

Lillian smiled at him, grateful for his gesture.

"I think you and I are gonna be great friends." she said, smiling more.

"Ch, yea right. I just feel bad for you is all." Gajeel grunted crossing his arms.

Lillian just laughed and waved behind her.

"See you at Fairy Tail tomorrow!" she called before leaving the shop.

Gajeel stood there for a few moments before shaking his head and mumbling "Crazy woman." as he finished cleaning the store.

* * *

 **A/N:** I really hope you guys liked it! I did a lot of research on some stuff from the beginning of the story and, unfortunately for me, ended up reading some spoilers... :( It didn't ruin too much, but still! Now that stuff won't be a surprise... oh well.

If you guys liked it let me know! If not, let me know! I'm a big girl, I can take criticism haha. Thanks!


	2. My New Friend The Iron Dragon

**A/N:** Hooray for another chapter! Writing this story has become the reward I give myself for completing homework, haha. I hope you guys enjoy!

sallycoombs: Here you go!

I don't own Fairy Tail. :(

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"...ian. Lillian!"

"Wha! What I'm up I'm up!" Lillian yelled as she jumped up from her seat at the bar.

She rubbed her eyes with the palms of her hands as she looked up into the worried, if not slightly amused, face of her brother.

"You alright? You were in the middle of talking and then just kind of zonked out." Simon said a smile forming on his lips.

Lillian shoved her brother's shoulder as she took a large swig of her beer, emptying it.

"Yea I'm fine. I just stayed up late reading is all." She said groggily laying her head back down on the bar.

That was only about half right. Lillian did stay up late reading, but she had never technically gone to bed. She didn't realize how long her last job would take her so she had to cram three weeks of reading into one night. Levy wasn't much help either, being as she was more of an enabler. As soon as the blue haired mage found out Lillian loved to read as much as herself, she had given her stacks and stacks of books to read. And of course, Lillian took it upon herself to finish them all. She groaned as she felt someone tapping on her head and looked up to see Mirajane handing her another drink.

"I usually don't advise drinking this early in the morning, but I think you need it." Mira said with a smile.

Lillian sniffed the drink and wrinkled her nose at the unfamiliar smell, hesitantly lifting the glass to take a drink of it. Her eyes widened at the taste and she quickly downed the rest of it. A warmth spread through Lillian as she felt her mind begin to defog as she become more energized.

"Man, what's in that thing? It tasted amazing." Lillian said as she tried to get the last drops out of the glass.

Mirajane laughed as she finally got the glass back from her. "It's a slightly different blend of a tonic to fix hangovers. I changed some things so instead it gives you more energy."

Lillian nodded as she stood up from her bar seat, a new energy surging through her. She thought about going on another job, but decided to stay in town for a little bit before taking on another. She looked around at her family in the guild, wondering if anyone would be willing to spar. Lillian tapped her chin, considering Natsu, but their magic always seemed to just cancel each other out.

"If you're looking for a fighting partner," Simon said "we could fight, we haven't done that in a while." he smirked. "Though I know I'd win."

Lillian rolled her eyes at her brother and laughed. "Haha, yea right. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure the last time we fought I beat you within ten seconds." she said smirking.

Simon opened and closed his mouth a few times, trying to come up with a good comeback.

"Whatever, doesn't matter. I'm not just looking for someone to fight, I want someone to train with." Lillian said. "And no offence, but I'd be afraid of breaking my big brother." Simon huffed while crossing his arms, but didn't argue further.

"Yea okay. I get it." he said grabbing up his things and walking out of the guild.

Lillian sighed running a hand through her long hair. Even though they messed around and ragged on each other, she hated making her brother feel inferior to her. But she couldn't risk fighting Simon, not again. Before her thoughts could go dark, Mirajane's slightly worried voice broke through Lillians' train of thought.

"What about Gajeel?" she asked, looking as though she wanted to ask about Simon but refrained from doing so, which Lillian appreciated.

"Huh? What about him?" Lillian asked, looking back at the woman.

"Well, if you're looking to train, he seemed to be able to keep up with you fairly well." Mirajane said as she kept Cana away from another barrel of liquor.

"Hmm," she said, holding her chin. "I suppose that could work. That is if I can get him to agree."

Lillian began looking around the guild, but came up short when trying to locate the Dragon Slayer. She crossed her arms, grumbling about the always absent man as she remembered the night before. A smile spread across her face as she said goodbye to the barmaid and hurried out of the guild hall. When outside Lillian began making her way into town as she tried to remember where the music shop was located. She passed store after store, becoming frustrated that she couldn't find it again. Arms crossed she closed her eyes, trying to focus on smell only to try and trigger any memories. Her spine straitened as she caught a whiff of a familiar scent and her eyes flew open as her feet began to guide her foreword.

In only a few minutes Lillian was standing back in front of the music store she wandered into yesterday. Today the door was propped open, letting music flow like water out of the shop. When she walked in she was greeted by that familiar scent again, unsure what exactly about the store the smell belonged to. She looked around to see Gajeel near the back wall organizing music and was slightly taken aback by his appearance as he lacked his usual tough guy outfit, instead having on normal jeans and a black t-shirt. She bounded over to him with a large smile on her face.

"Hello fellow comrade." Lillian announced, hands on her hips.

Gajeel groaned as he looked down at the girl beside him, a vein popping out of his forehead.

"What the hell are you doing here again? I thought you said you weren't gonna come back." Gajeel stated as he walked toward the front of the store.

"I only promised not to tell anyone," Lillian said, following him. "I never said anything about not coming by again."

Gajeel rolled his eyes but knew arguing further would get him nowhere, so he went about working as usual.

"Fine. What do you want?" he asked, narrowing his eyes as Lillian smiled and hopped up onto the counter top to sit, swinging her boot covered legs.

"Well, I wanted to know if you could train with me." Lillian said, gaining a 'Ch' from Gajeel. "Oh come on, please? Training is a lot more effective with a partner and you're the only person I've met who I'm not afraid to punch." she said, putting her hands together and sticking out her lower lip in a pout.

He rolled his eyes again as he looked at the girl as she got down from the counter to go up close to him, eyes upturned to look sad.

"Is that supposed to be a complement? 'Only person I've met I'm not afraid to punch'?" he asked, but he did feel complimented. No one ever willingly wanted to fight with him unless they were trying to hurt him, never to train.

Lillian nodded as she continued to beg, tugging on his arm. "Pleeeease? Please please train with me? I have to become a better wizard if I want to be able to protect my family."

Gajeel stood there as Lillian tugged and pulled on him as he tried to decide if he wanted to be extremely annoyed and decline, or to give into her pleas. Growling he picked her up by the back of her dress to hold her up to his eye level. Her eyes widened as she readied herself to be yelled at.

"Why must you insist on being so aggravating?" he asked, causing her to look down in defeat.

He sat her down on the other side of the counter and she looked up to see a smug look on his face.

"What?" Lillian asked crossing her arms.

"I'm just going to enjoy proving what a mistake you've made in wanting me as a training partner, Gi Hi." Gajeel said, laughing.

Lillian's face perked up as she cheered and ran around the counter to hug the man while laughing.

"Yay! Thank you so much!" she yelled, a few people outside glancing in to see what the commotion was about.

She hugged him tighter, realizing the musky smell belonged to the man as Gajeel just crossed his arms and huffed in annoyance, hoping the white haired girl couldn't see the slight blush on his face. Lillian grinned as she finally let him go and laughed, feeling slightly embarrassed at her own outburst, and clasped her hands together.

"Okay, so come find me once you're done at work. I live up in Fairy Hills and I'll wait there till you're done." she said as she smiled and ran out the shop without giving Gajeel a chance to argue or back out.

The Iron Dragon sighed and put a hand to his head, wondering what he's gotten himself into. He finished work a few hours after Lillian had left and was locking up the shop when he felt eyes on his back. He spun around quickly but found no one staring at him, just some people walking by on the street. Eyes narrowed he began walking home, his nerves still on high alert. He sniffed the air and frowned, knowing good and well he was being followed. He stopped walking and looked to the trees around him as he sat his pack down.

"Alright, I know you're out there. There's no point in staying hidden." Gajeel said.

Just as he suspected, Gray and Natsu began to materialize from behind the trees. A growl broke itself from deep within Gajeel's chest. He was tired of everyone being pissed at him. Yea, he'd done bad and he wasn't proud of it. He wanted to mend the scar he'd left on Fairy Tail, but no one would let him try, so he was fine with playing the bad guy.

"We can't have you be in our guild, we can't trust you." Gray said, pulling his hands back in a fighting stance.

"Yea. You hurt our family and you shouldn't just get off free." Natsu chimed in.

The three stood facing each other as a breeze picked up behind Gajeel and spread toward the other two mages. Natsu sniffed at the air and he growled at the dark haired man.

"Why the hell do you smell like Lillian?" Natsu asked taking a step toward Gajeel.

"I don't need to explain anything to you two idiots." he retorted, arms crossed over his chest.

"You stay the hell away from her!" Natsu yelled running toward Gajeel. "Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" He ran and punched Gajeel under the jaw, sending him flying backwards.

"Ice-Make: Hammer!" Gray yelled sending a giant hammer made of ice down on Gajeel just as he landed.

Both Gray and Natsu walked over to where Gajeel was getting up, whipping blood off his lip. Natsu went over and grabbed the man by the collar.

"If we see you around Lillian again, we promise we won't hold back next time. You don't deserve her kindness, and we'll make sure she knows exactly what you've done." Natsu growled.

Gajeel shoved the Fire Dragon away from him. "Tell her whatever the hell you want, I couldn't care less." He brushed past both of them, picked up his pack, and continued walking back the way he had been heading, ignoring the yells coming from the two wizards.

Gajeel didn't go find Lillian later that evening. He knew the best way to get everyone to leave him alone was to keep her away from him. His stomach slightly dropped at the thought, but he attributed it to the punches he had just received. He knew she would be pissed at him for going back on his word, but it was the only way.

* * *

"Dammit Gajeel." Lillian said to herself as she paced her room.

It had been a few hours after she talked to Gajeel that she got curious about where he could be. She then started to become angry when the sun had begun to set. Lillian crossed her arms over her chest as she decided to go to bed early, knowing the iron mage wasn't going to show up.

The next morning Lillian was fully rested and still very much pissed. She pulled on a black dress that had light blue flowers sown into it, her favorite pair of boots, and pulled her long white hair into a pony tail. She made her way down to the guild hall and walked inside going right up to where Gajeel sat eating iron. Lillian grabbed the iron from his hands and he looked up at her, meeting her angry gaze with his own.

"What the hell's wrong with you?" he asked, aggravated.

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you! I thought we had a deal." she said, almost yelling.

"I just said that to get you to leave me alone." Gajeel growled, Lillians' face faltering slightly. "You're annoying and pathetic and you need to get over yourself." he said coldly.

Lillian just stared at him as his words stabbed at her. Even though it hurt, she knew he was lying. Why was he trying to push her away? Did he really think he was better off with no friends? She collected herself and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Bullshit." Lillian said, matching Gajeels' cold tone.

He narrowed his red eyes at her and slammed his hands down on the table hard, causing the whole guild to look over at them. He wasn't really angry with her, but he let his hatred for everyone else in the guild fuel his words.

"I don't care what you or anyone else thinks. Leave me the fuck alone!" he yelled as he got closer, towering over Lillian to try and intimidate her.

She stared at the man in front of her and at the anger burning in his eyes. She held his gaze as she saw the anger begin to fade, but his expression remained hard. Lillian knew she didn't have to take his childish behavior but felt her temper begin to rise, and she knew she had to get out of there before she exploded. She finally broke from his stare and stalked over to the request board, ripped one off before looking at it, then turned back to go out the guild slamming the door behind her.

Gajeel watched her go before huffing and sitting back down. He looked across the guild to see Natsu staring angrily at him before the fire mage got up and went to chase after the water mage.

Lillian angrily wiped the tears from her face as she stalked through town. She wasn't actually hurt by his words, but he frustrated her beyond belief and she cried out of anger. She was pulled to a stop by a firm grip on her shoulder and turned around to find Natsu.

"I'll kick his ass for making you cry." Natsu growled turning to head back to the guild.

Lillian yelled in frustration before punching Natsu square in the jaw, knocking him back on his butt.

"Hey! What the hell?!" he yelled rubbing his face.

"Why can't you give Gajeel a chance?" she asked, her anger beginning to boil over.

"Why should I? He attacked Fairy Tail Lillian! My family! _Our_ family!" Natsu yelled. "He attacked Levy and her team and chained them to a tree! He beat up Lucy and almost killed her! Not to mention he's a giant asshole who has no remorse for his actions!"

Lillian just starred at Natsu, taken aback by the new information. Yes, it was horrible what Gajeel had done, extremely so, but she knew harboring that anger would get them nowhere. She stood there in silence for a few minutes before responding.

"Natsu, did Levy forgive Gajeel?" Lillian asked, her voice significantly quieter.

Natsu's angry expression fell slightly as he sighed. "Yea. Yea she did."

"And even if Lucy hasn't forgiven him yet, she doesn't yell at him and start fights." she said walking over to crouch in front of Natsu. "You doing that though, makes it hard for everyone to begin healing, especially Gajeel." she held her hand over his mouth as he opened it. "Yes, even if he doesn't deserve it, he needs to heal too. Our past doesn't define us, it's how we let it shape us that makes us who we are." Lillian finished, smiling as she ruffled his pink hair.

Natsu sighed and looked up at the Dragon Slayer in front of him. He didn't know what happened in her past to make her so wise, but he didn't want to disappoint her.

"I suppose I can try and be less hostile toward him. But if he starts it I make no promises about any damage!" Natsu stated earning a laugh from Lillian.

"Alright deal." she smiled helping Natsu to his feet. "Now go back to the guild, I'll see you in a bit."

He nodded and ran off toward Fairy Tail as Lillian sighed. He stopped in his tracks and turned toward Lillian sheepishly.

"Yea uh... me and Gray are the reason the iron head got angry at you. We may have kinda ganged up on him and attacked him a little. And I may have told him to stay away from you...sorry." Natsu said scratching behind his head.

Lillian narrowed her eyes at him. "You idiot! Stay out of my business!" she yelled chasing after him.

Natsu took off quickly toward Fairy Tail and Lillian huffed as she stopped and crossed her arms, grumbling about idiot dragons. She finally looked down at the request she had taken and groaned. It was a job worth 100,000 jewels asking to take down a monster, but it was on an island. The sound of a throat being cleared cause her to jump and whip around to locate the sound her eyes finding Gajeel standing by the side of a building, hands in his pockets.

"Gosh don't do that! Make a sound would ya?" Lillian said grasping at her chest.

Gajeel rolled his eyes. "I did make a noise, and it's not like I was trying to hide or anything."

She huffed then walked over and punched him hard in the arm.

"The hell's wrong with you?" he yelled grabbing her wrists to keep her from hitting him again.

"Why don't you want friends?" she asked, face angry. "Why does the idea of having people who want to get to know you seem to scare you?"

He growled and pulled her closer to him, getting right in her face.

"I'm not afraid of anything. I'm just tired of these idiots bothering me." he said.

Lillian narrowed her eyes at the stubborn man and shook herself free of his grip.

"You can drop the bad guy act. I talked to Natsu, he said he'll try and behave." she said.

"Tch, whatever." he said crossing his arms.

"He also told me what you did to my guild mates." she said, slightly quieter.

He dropped his arms and waited for her response. Would she yell at him? Curse him and never speak to him again? The idea slightly worried him.

She looked up into his red eyes and sighed. "I think you could be more sensitive to how everyone feels, but I think you've been punished enough. You joined our guild, which is a step in the right direction. You're past doesn't define you."

His eyes widened in surprise having not expected that response from her, and for the first time he really looked at the girl in front of him. She held a smile on her face but it had a sadness to it that reached deep into her light blue eyes. Something inside Gajeel seemed to snap and he knew right then he wanted to keep her smiling no matter what.

"And he told me what he and Gray did." she groaned shaking her head. "They had no right to do that, to you or me." she stuck her hand out to him, a large smile on her face. "So how about we start over? Hi, I'm Lillian."

He chuckled as he reached out and shook her hand and she smiled more, poking him in the chest.

"This means you owe me for being stupid and blowing me off yesterday." she said.

Gajeel growled again, but didn't argue with her. He did want to make it up to her and, even if he wouldn't admit it to himself, he enjoyed her company. No matter how annoying she could be.

Lillian held up the job request so he could read it as he raised an eye brow.

"You're going to come with me on this job, I'll even give you some of the reward." she said smirking.

"Half." he grunted folding the paper up to put in his jacket.

"You'll get 40%." she said.

"50 or I'm not going." he huffed crossing his arms.

Lillian laughed. "Fine. 50 50."

She turned around and punched the air smiling as she took off running toward the dock.

"Hey, wait! We're leaving now?" Gajeel yelled as he chased after the white haired woman.

"Of course! Come on slow poke!" she yelled as she laughed running faster, happiness of making a new friend filling her soul.

* * *

 **A/N:** I'm loving writing Lillian's character. I started with the idea of her being more rough and snarky, but her being a goofball is much more fun!

Onto the next!


	3. The Demon Reigns

**A/N:** Hello my lovelies. I had a lot of fun with writing this chapter and I hope you guys enjoy reading it. In case you don't know, italics mean a flash back.

I don't own Fairy Tail.

* * *

"Nope I change my mind I want off!" Lillian yelled, gripping for dear life onto a tree.

"You haven't even stepped onto the thing, quit your whinin'." Gajeel said, pulling at Lillian's legs.

She held onto the tree tighter while kicking her legs, trying to free them from Gajeels' hold. He growled at the annoying girl, wondering why she wanted to go on this job if she couldn't even get to it. A boat was waiting for them to take them to Cherchu Island but Lillian now refused to get on because she had severe motion sickness. With one hard jerk Gajeel was able to yank Lillian from the tree, throw her over his shoulder, and step into the boat. She yelled at the man pounding on his back and kicking, but was instantly rendered helpless as soon as he got onto it. She heaved and scrambled from his hold to lean over the side and throw up.

"Ch. You're so weak." Gajeel stated leaning against the side of the boat.

Lillian stared daggers at him but was rocked with another wave of nausea as the boat began moving forward. After throwing up a few more times she slowly laid down on the deck, curling in on herself and grumbling.

"Why aren't you getting sick? Natsu's the same as me, I thought it was a Dragon Slayer thing." Lillian said her voice weak.

"Like I said, I'm just a lot stronger than you two knuckle heads." he grunted looking down at the girl.

She groaned more as she wrapped her arms around her stomach and closed her eyes, hoping sleep would help her escape this hell. An hour ticked by slowly until they finally docked at Cherchu Island. Lillian lunged from the boat and laid flat on the grass and sighed happily.

"Ah, solid ground, I love you." she said trying to hug the ground.

Gajeel chuckled as he picked the girl up from the ground before she could start making out with it and sat her on her feet.

"Hey," Gajeel said walking toward the boatman. "do you know where the village is around here?"

The man nodded and told them it was about a twenty minute walk north of there. They thanked him and Lillian handed him money for giving them a ride, and the two began walking forward. They were both silent for a few minutes before Lillian began speaking.

"So, Gajeel, why'd you come with me?" she asked, glancing at the dark haired man.

He grunted and looked at her, a confused look on his face. "What do you mean? You said it yourself this is how I'm supposed to make it up to you for not training."

"I know, but you technically could have said no and walked away." she smirked as she saw him become visibly agitated and she gasped in fake surprise. "Gajeel Redfox! Are you warming up to the idea of me being your friend?"

"Ch, absolutely not. You're too annoying." he retorted quickly, but there was no anger in his words.

Lillian laughed and bumped her shoulder into him. "Oh just admit you like having me around and I promise I might try and be less annoying. Maybe. Probably not. But maybe."

Gajeel just rolled his eyes, shaking his head at her as he crossed his arms. He didn't let her see the smirk that played on his lips as she huffed and pouted at him for not responding to her allegations.

"Fine. Have it your way, just know the longer you deny my friendship the more annoying I'll be." she said.

Gajeel sweat-dropped at the thought. How could she get even more annoying than this? He glanced sideways at the woman to see her now admiring the islands beauty, a large smile on her face. The sun had begun to set and the warm colors brushed over her skin and danced in her eyes. A darkness suddenly passed over her features and her smile dropped, being replaced by a look of regret. Lillian caught Gajeels' stare and instantly smiled big again.

"What's up? she asked, her smile never faltering again.

He eyed the woman for a few more moments before shrugging and looking ahead.

"Nothing, thought there was a spider on you." he lied.

Lillian shrieked loudly and jumped onto Gajeel clinging to his torso with both her arms and legs.

"What really?! Where!?" she yelled looking around frantically.

"The hell? Get off me!" he yelled back, trying to separate the screaming mage from his body. "There wasn't anything there you idiot!"

She stopped screaming but stayed attached to the side of his body, slightly shaking.

"Hey, I didn't mean to freak you out." he said, feeling a little guilty.

After a minute she let go of him and proceeded to punch him in the arm.

"Don't freak me out like that again unless something's actually there!" she yelled.

"Geez okay. I didn't know something as little as a spider would be your downfall." he said smirking a little.

"It isn't funny! Spiders are unnatural and unholy creatures." she huffed hugging her torso tightly.

"Gi Hi Hi. You're lucky you're a Dragon Slayer, because otherwise the world would break you so easily." he said, gaining another punch from Lillian.

"Asshole." she muttered under her breath.

The pair came into a clearing as a large wall made of stone was suddenly before them. The two Dragon Slayers exchanged a glance before approaching the wall.

"Halt! State your business here!" a loud voice suddenly announced.

Lillian looked up to see an angry looking man dressed in armor standing atop the wall. Gajeel took the request out of his pocket and held it up to the guard.

"We came about the monster." he said.

The guards' eyes narrowed as he examined the two. They didn't seem all that capable of handling the situation, but what choice did they have?

"Took you long enough." the man said before disappearing.

"Excuse me?" Lillian huffed only loud enough for Gajeel to hear, making him chuckle.

The stone wall began to tremble and groan as it started splitting down the middle until they were facing the guard again.

"Follow me." he said before walking forward.

The two followed the man as they could feel the wall begin closing back behind them. They were led through a small village consisting of about only twenty homes and a few various shops. Lillian couldn't put her finger on it, but something about the place gave her the creeps.

"I feel it too." Gajeel muttered as he looked around the area. Lillian looked up at him to see his face scrunched up. "Look around, there isn't anyone outside."

He was right, the town was completely deserted. As she looked closer at a few homes she could see terrified eyes peaking out from behind closed curtains.

"Why is everyone hiding in their homes?" Lillian asked the man.

He glanced over his shoulder at the pair as his voice darkened.

"Because a demon as taken over this place." he said.

She shuddered slightly at his tone and took a slight step closer to the iron dragon, causing him to huff but make no movement away from her. As they came to the final house the guard gestured them inside before going in himself. It was a rather small space, but warm and comforting, chasing away the chill that had latched itself to Lillian since they had entered the village.

"Oh hello, you two must be the team from Fairy Tail. I'm so glad someone finally answered our request. I'm the mayor of Cherchu Island."

The group turned around to find the voice belonged to a man standing in the next room. He was tall and rather good looking, but age was beginning to eat away at him. He gestured for Gajeel and Lillian to sit at a table as he brought over tea for them. She thanked the man as he took a seat across from them and smiled sadly.

"Actually we aren't a team, just working together on this mission." Lillian said.

"Oh, is that so?" the man said, looking rather sad for some reason.

"Well, we could be." Gajeel said, shrugging to Lillian. "If you want."

Lillian smiled at him and nodded, happy he seemed to be coming around to her as a friend.

"Well thank you so much for coming. Our little town as been under such turmoil lately we haven't known what to do." he said taking a sip of his own tea.

Lillian held her cup as she looked at the older man. "I'm Lillian Knottspear and this his Gajeel Redfox. Sir, what exactly has been happening here? The more we know the better we can help." she said.

He nodded as he sat his cup down and sighed, seeming to age twenty years in front of their eyes.

"About a month ago, some of our people began to disappear with no explanation. We didn't know what was going on, until someone announced that the night before they saw people walk by outside as if under a trance. They said they walked straight out of town and into the forest." he shook his head. "Since then everyone has become terrified of the night and rumor has spread of a demon stealing people from their beds. I stayed outside one night, trying to see if I could find who or what was doing this. Something came over me, like a darkness had slithered into my body and soul, controlling it how it saw fit. The only thing that saved me was Andrew here," he gestured to the guard who stood quietly in the back of the room. "he knocked me out cold and carried me back inside before he could be affected. After that the wall was built to keep the thing out, but to also keep people in."

Gajeel crossed his arms over his chest. "So we're supposed to hunt down something you guys haven't seen?" he asked skeptically.

The mayor nodded grimly before sighing. "We're desperate. No one goes out at night for fear of being taken and some won't come out during the day either."

Gajeel grunted before looking over at Lillian to find her staring wide eyed at the mayor like she'd seen a ghost.

"Oi, Lillian." Gajeel said but got no response.

"Ms. Knottspear? What's wrong?" the man asked.

Lillian just continued staring forward until she felt herself being shook, her eyes focusing in front of her to see a worried looking Gajeel.

"Do you know the name of this demon?" she suddenly asked the mayor.

He looked at her questioningly, but nodded.

"There is a name that the town speaks of. No one knows where it originated from, but somehow everyone knows it. The name Mezun."

"I-I'm sorry, but I don't think we can help you. Excuse me." she said as she quickly stood up heading into the other room.

"Wait, Ms. Knottspear!" the mayor yelled standing from his seat.

"I'll talk to her." Gajeel said as he took off after the white haired woman.

He looked around the living space, consisting of a simple couch and coffee table, until his eyes landed on the small huddled up figure in the corner of the room. He walked up to her slowly, being able to hear her quiet sobs as he got closer, and crouched in front of her. Her arms were wrapped around her legs with her face in her knees, but she made no movement even though she knew the man was there. Gajeel didn't know what to do. He didn't know what had upset the girl to the point of tears and he sure as hell didn't know how to help. He lightly touched her arm and she slowly looked up into his red eyes as tears streamed from her own.

"What do you know about Mezun?" Gajeel asked softly.

"Don't speak that name!" she yelled hurling herself into his chest sobbing more.

He sat there dumbfounded not knowing what to do. The water dragon wrapped her arms around Gajeels' chest as images of blood and pain began to flash before her eyes.

"H-hey now, come on. Get it together." Gajeel said, carefully trying to peal her from him, but it only made her cling to him more.

"No please." she whispered, pain filling her small voice.

Her words stopped him as he looked down at her as she continued to cry. He gently placed his arms around her as he hugged her to his body, hoping she would calm down. After a few minutes her sobs were replaced by soft sniffles as she tried to collect herself. Why? Why of all places did he have to be there? Lillian knew her demons were going to eventually break her, and when they did, she didn't know if she could put herself together again. She shuddered as images still stained her memory and she burrowed her face into the crook of his neck. Gajeel didn't know what came over him but he was suddenly very, very angry. Angry that something had upset Lillian so deeply. Angry he didn't know how to help and he was shocked to realize how protective of her he was as held her tighter to him. Her sobs had shaken him to his core because he knew them. Those cries of pain and loss, not just of a person, but of losing a part of yourself. This demon, Mezun, had done something to Lillian, something that caused her happy demeanor to shatter. Gajeel made a promise to himself right then to find this thing, and end it. He was eventually able to pull her from him and made her look at him. He moved a piece of her long hair our of her face and whispered, voice full of resolve.

"I won't let that thing hurt you again, I promise you that." Gajeel said darkly. "I'll fucking tear it apart with my bare hands if I have to."

Lillian looked up in surprise at the man in front of her and at the anger burning in his red eyes. He didn't know what about Mezun upset her, but he was willing to act on her behalf, and that made her happy. She wiped the wetness off her face as she smiled up at the dragon.

"I think I'm your friend Gajeel." she said, smiling more when he rolled his eyes.

"Fine. We're friends. Happy?" he asked, glad to see her smile again.

She nodded as she hugged her "new" friend.

"Alright, then as your friend I think I deserve to know why you were so upset." he said.

Lillian's face fell, but she knew he was right. He sat there and comforted her when he didn't have to, the least she could do was explain why. She took a few shaky breaths before separating herself from Gajeel and sitting in front of him as she started her tale.

"It was about a year after Nero disappeared. Simon and I were just two kids all alone with no where to go, barley getting by by doing small jobs here and there for people. We knew the only way we could survive was by joining a guild, but every guild turned us away either because they didn't believe I was a Dragon Slayer or because we didn't have money. We had heard stories of Fairy Tail but knew we weren't strong enough to make it in, so we decided to devote ourselves to training." she looked down at her hands. "That's when we met him."

 _"Siiimon" a thirteen year-old Lillian cried. "I'm tiiired. When can we take a break?" they had been fighting and training together for the past three hours, and she was exhausted._

 _"Soon. Not until you can master the direction of your Water Beam and I can master my Psychic Sword." Simon said, walking over to his younger sister to help her stand._

 _She huffed and crossed her arms, laying down on her back._

 _"I'll never get it, it's pointless. And you already mastered your Psychic Sword, you're just driving yourself insane." she said._

 _He narrowed his eyes at his baby sisters' laziness. When Nero had been around she was the one usually yelling at him to keep training when he got tired._

 _"It isn't good enough. And no, you won't ever get it unless you get up off your ass and practice." Simon growled yanking Lillian up to her feet._

 _She growled back shoving her brother away from her putting her hands together and pointed with two fingers._

 _"Water Dragon's Beam!" she yelled sending out a long burst of water towards him, but he had anticipated the attack and was able to easily dodge it._

 _"Psychic Sword!" he yelled as he extended his right arm out to grip something invisible in the air._

 _"Water Dragon's Roar!" Lillian yelled sending a large force of magic toward Simon._

 _He didn't doge the attack this time, instead lifting his arms up and bringing them down quickly, cutting right through her attack. He looked up to send a smug look to his sister but was sent flying backwards as she gave him no time to react before sending out another Water Beam. He groaned as he landed on the ground and looked over to see her running towards him._

 _"Psychic Bullet!" he screamed as he held his hand up as if holding an invisible gun as he sent bullets of psychic energy towards the Dragon Slayer._

 _Lillian hadn't expected the attack and shut her eyes in anticipation of the energy to cut at her skin._

 _"Water Wall!"_

 _Suddenly a large wall of water was sent in front of Lillian, encasing the psychic bullets before they could make contact. The siblings looked over in the direction that the water came from to see a boy of about 15 standing in a fighting stance._

 _"That's some pretty impressive magic you guys have there." the boy said walking over to Lillian_ _taking her hand in his, kissing the top of it, and smiling._

 _"My name's Mezun. Mezun Tatis, and you are?"_

 _She blushed at his actions and withdrew her hand from his hold._

 _"I'm Lillian." she said then gestured to her brother as he walked up to them. "And this is my brother, Simon."_

 _Mezun smiled at the man and gripped his hand shaking it._

 _"Nice to meet you. Sorry to drop in on your guys' fighting, I just couldn't let this pretty face get marked up." he said, sending a grin to Lillian._

 _"So what exactly do you want than?" Simon asked, moving Lillian slightly behind him._

 _The boy beamed and held up his hands which were encased in water._

 _"Well I came to train with Lillian of course. I posses water magic which I thought would be a better fit to train against than psychic magic." he said shrugging._

 _"We're doing perfectly fine on our own, thanks." Simon said as he took Lillian's hand to walk the other way._

 _"Hold on Simon," Lillian said pulling Simon to a stop. "This could be a really good opportunity for me. Your magic is already extremely advanced and I can hardly keep up. Maybe we should get to know him before brushing him off."_

 _Simon huffed and crossed his arms, aggravated because he agreed with her. Groaning he looked to the younger boy eyeing him up and down. He had blood hair with light brown eyes, an average build with khaki pants and a white shirt._

 _"Fine. Meet us here tomorrow at noon, then I'll decide if you're worthy to train with us." Simon said._

 _Mezun smiled and nodded. "Don't worry, I'll be here."_

 _The next day Mezun and Simon sparred together. Simon was able to defeat him but not easily, so he decided he would be good to have around. After that day the trio met everyday and trained, eventually traveling together for the next year. Mezun became like a little brother to Simon once he was able to break through Mezun's cocky attitude, and he became another older brother for Lillian. The three quickly became a family working off each other and becoming_ _inseparable. Life seemed to be looking up, Simon even believing they could be ready to try and join Fairy Tail. Unfortunately, the universe was about to slap them with reality._

 _"Alright, now position your arms like this." Mezun said moving his body._

 _Because his and Lillian's magic were so similar, he was able to teach her techniques she'd never thought of before. That's what he was doing that day, and she assumed it was another defense spell, but she was mistaken._

 _"Like this?" Lillian asked, mimicking Mezun's movements._

 _He nodded at her and smiled as they went through the motions together over and over._

 _"There you go! I think you got it!" he said as they high-fived._

 _"Awesome! Now would you please tell me what this actual technique is?" she said becoming excited._

 _"Well, it's one of my most powerful attacks." he said, smirking. "It renders your opponent defenseless and completely under your control."_

 _Lillian's eyebrows furrowed as she looked at her partner as she began to feel uncomfortable._

 _"Control? I didn't know you could do such a thing with water magic." she said._

 _"Oh, but you can. You just have to know what to focus on," he looked over at her and her blood ran cold as she saw the insanity in his eyes. "as well as pull strength from the darkness in your soul."_

 _Her heart began to race as she took a few steps back from Mezun, hurt flashing in his now black eyes._

 _"There's no need to fear me, I'm only doing this so that you can unlock your true potential." he said walking towards her._

 _"Not if it means losing myself. What happened to you Mezun? What did you do?!" Lillian said as she turned to run and find Simon, he'd know what to do._

 _But her body wouldn't respond to her as a cold slithered through her veins and latched onto her soul. Fear rushed through Lillian as she started moving so that she was now facing Mezun, her body no longer her own. He wore a large smile on his face as he went through the motions he had previously taught her, causing her to fall to her knees. Tears streamed down her face as she looked into Mezun's eyes to only see a stranger staring back._

 _"Please." Lillian begged, crying more. "Why are you doing this?"_

 _"To show you what could be yours if you open yourself up to it. Please don't cry." Mezun said._

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Andrew said running into the room Lillian and Gajeel were in. "but we need you outside, now."

Lillian sat up straighter as she nodded to Gajeel.

"We have to focus on the mission, there'll be time for story telling later." she said standing to her feet, new resolve burning in her eyes.

She was absolutely terrified, but she had to confront this issue head on and stop hiding in the corner like a small child. Gajeel looked up at her and grinned at the anger in her eyes and stood up as well. He wasn't sure what to make of her story thus far, but he knew one thing; Mezun was fucking mental. The pair followed the guard as he ran outside to show them what was going on. Lillian's eyes widened as she saw the rest of the towns people walking out of an opening in the wall and into the forest.

"What the hell?" Gajeel asked turning to Andrew. "Why would you open the wall in the first place?"

"I didn't. Apparently when I accompanied you into the mayors house someone went up into my post and opened the wall themselves." he shook his head. "I came out and everyone was like this."

"Well then why the hell aren't we affected by all this?" Gajeel asked, aggravated.

"Because he knows I'm here." Lillian said, looking towards the forest. "And he's trying to get me to come to him voluntarily." she began to walk forward, following where the people were heading.

A firm hand grabbed her shoulder and swung her around as she was met with angry red eyes.

"What do you think you're doing?" Gajeel growled. "This guy's crazy. I'm coming with you."

"No. This has to just be me and him." Lillian said meeting his hard gaze. "I have to deal with this on my own."

"Sorry Princess, that's not how I roll." Gajeel said as he laughed.

Lillian opened her mouth to yell at him but before she could speak he grabbed her by the waist, threw her over his shoulder, and began walking forward.

"What the hell?!" she yelled trying to free herself but to no avail.

"There's no point in continuing this argument, I've already won Gi Hi." Gajeel said.

Lillian huffed and crossed her arms in defeat earning another laugh from Gajeel. Fine, she'd let him accompany her to where ever Mezun was, but she'd be doing all the fighting. She wouldn't let Gajeel get hurt, not for her.

* * *

 **A/N:** So much information! I enjoyed writing Simon's magic. When I was coming up with Lillian's character I had thought about using psychic magic for her power, but wasn't sure how to translate that to Dragon Slayer magic. So, I gave it to Simon! It was really hard trying to come up with a unique power, considering how many different types there are in Fairy Tail. I know the introduction of Mezun was kinda sloppy and rushed, I'm gonna try and fix it up at a later time if ideas come to me to make it sound better. For now, it's how it is, sorry.

On to the next!


	4. Darkness

**A/N:** Hey guys! So... there is absolutely no way I'm gonna be able to finish my novel by the end of November... haha oh well! I won't give up on it, just won't be trying to get it out so quickly. And that means I can give time to this again! Hooray! I hope you enjoy!

I don't own Fairy Tail.

* * *

"What the hell's wrong with these people?!" Gajeel exclaimed as he caught up with a group of the villagers.

"Oh my- oh no Gajeel look." Lillian said as she pointed to a woman's face, her eyes wide open as they looked around.

When her gaze landed on Lillian they filled with tears as she stared at her in a silent plea for help.

"Ma'am don't worry, I'm gonna get you out of this, all of you." Lillian said.

 _Come to me._

A soft breeze wrapped itself around Lillian, like an embrace from a long lost lover, as it began beckoning her deeper into the forest.

 _Come._

"Okay." she breathed out letting the air guide her.

Despite her fears the wind seemed to put her mind at ease as it lead her.

"Oi, Lillian!" Gajeel called as he took off after her, only to be thrown back onto his backside when he came within a few feet of her.

She didn't seem to notice as she continued to walk trance like through the trees. Gajeel growled as he got to his feet to run after the white haired girl. What the hell had come over her? And what attacked him? Lillian had strayed from the path the villagers were following as Gajeel followed close behind.

After a few minutes of walking the tress finally parted into a large circle that stretched around them as Lillian continued to walk towards the middle. She came to a stop in the center of the clearing as a dark figure emerged from the tree line, heading towards her. The figure smiled wildly at Lillian as he reached a hand out to stroke the side of her face, but Gajeel hesitated as he stayed behind a tree, until he noticed the darkness licking at the mans heals.

A deep growl erupted from Gajeel's chest as he sprinted towards them. "Don't you dare touch her!"

The mans head snapped up at the sudden noise and he bared his teeth, hissing at Gajeel, before flicking his wrist causing Gajeel to hit an invisible barrier. The man then created a sphere around Lillian, completely encasing her. She seemed to snap out of whatever hold he had on her because she began looking around frantically, then froze when her eyes landed on the man in front of her.

"N-no. No please." she whimpered, pressing her back against the sphere.

He grinned as he slowly walked around Lillian. She began shuddering as he stepped into her space and began to caress her arm, leaning in close to her ear.

"Oh sweet, innocent Lillian. Have you not missed me?" the man asked, his hand traveling down her arm to her waist.

Something inside Lillian snapped. A flame began burning in the middle of her chest as anger built up inside her. Anger at herself, for getting trapped so easily. Anger at what he had done to her in the past. She stared at the dark eyes in front of her as they tried to pierce through her soul, and she lost it.

"Leave me the fuck alone!" she screamed as she threw her arms out "Water Dragon's Piercing Rage!"

Water began assaulting the man from all sides as he was thrown back out of the sphere and onto the ground, waves of water continuing to attack him rendering him immobile. Lillian began pounding the walls of her cage, willing her magic to pierce through the relentless walls. Gajeel watched in slight shock before beginning to do the same thing to the invisible wall that still held him back from helping Lillian.

"Iron Dragon's Iron Fist!" he yelled as he tried thrusting his arm through the barrier.

Suddenly, a scream a pure terror erupted through the night, causing Gajeel to stop and look where the noise had come from. His blood ran cold as he looked over to see Lillian bent back in an unnatural way, her eyes completely black and her mouth open wide, as if she were still screaming. The man began laughing as he slowly got to his feet, brushing off stray water from his jacket as if he hadn't just been tossed around like a rag doll.

"Now than. No more games." he said as he extended his arm out toward Lillian. "Let's see what makes you tick." He quickly twisted his wrist and Lillian fell to her knees, yelling.

She held her head in her hands as she continued to scream and scream, her hair violently whipping around her.

"NO! Simon I'm sorry!" she screamed as tears spilled down her face. "I'm so so sorry!"

"Lillian!" Gajeel called, anger rising in him. "You bastard! What are you doing to her?!" he didn't wait for an answer as he relentlessly pounded against the wall.

A loud _crack_ caused Gajeel to smile and send a final punch right into the wall before it shattered. Growling Gajeel ran right towards Lillian but was unable to get through the barrier that held her in, so he began hitting the walls, but to no avail. A dark laugh came from the man, barely audible over Lillian's cries of pain and fear, but Gajeel heard him. Oh, he heard him.

"N-no... please Simon. This can't be real." Lillian cried.

"Tch, what a waste. You could have been useful to me." the man said, readying a deadly attack to throw at Gajeel. "But it seems you've chosen a side."

"There's so much blood... SIMON!"

The air suddenly turned colder as black-like flames began wafting around Gajeel as he turned towards the man, his eyes glowing a dark red. "I really hate people who talk too much." he said as he pulled his arm back and yelled "Iron Dragon's Iron Fist!"

"Fool! Do you really believe you can hit me?" the man said, smirking.

But Gajeel wasn't aiming the attack at him, he was aiming it at Lillian's sphere. With as much strength as he could muster, he sent an iron rod right into the wall, instantly penetrating it. The air became eerily silent as Lillian's screams stopped as she collapsed forward onto the ground. The man was stunned, which was a terrible mistake because Gajeel took the opportunity to ram an iron rod right into his face, throwing him back a few yards, out cold.

"Bastard."

"G-Gajeel...?"

Gajeel turned toward Lillian's barely audible whisper. She was still laying on the ground, but she was smiling at him.

"Did you get him?" she asked her voice becoming even more distant.

"You're damn right I did." he said walking over to crouch by Lillian, ruffling her hair. "You did good kid."

She smiled more at him, let out a small laugh, then passed out. Gajeel bent down and lifted Lillian into his arms bridal style before going over to see what happened to the man. However, when he turned around, the man was gone. He scowled but decided the best thing to do was get Lillian back to the village safely. He held her close to himself as he made the trek back through the forest and into the mostly deserted village.

When the duo entered the town Gajeel was not prepared for what he'd see. There was a large, sharp pole positioned right in the middle of the market and the guard they had met earlier, Andrew, was deposited right on top of it. The spear like end of the pole had been thrust right up into Andrew's jaw and out through his skull, killing him painfully.

"Shit." Gajeel muttered to himself. "What the hell happened here?"

Lillian must had felt him stiffen, because she stirred awake before slowly opening her eyes and smiling at the man above her. Her smile faded quickly when she followed his gaze up to where Andrew was hanging.

"No!" she shouted, scrambling down out of Gajeel's hold only to find her legs like jelly, therefore falling to her knees.

"Oi Lillian! What are you doing?" Gajeel said, grabbing the hysterical girl by the arm.

She quickly shook him off as she tried to get to her feet, but her legs would not obey her. "Goddamn it all!" she yelled, pounding the ground with her fists. "I should have killed him when I had the chance. What's wrong with me?!"

"H-hey, what are you going on about?" Gajeel asked, beyond confused.

"Mezun of course! I had the opportunity to slice his head off, but I was too weak." Lillian said, her voice empty and catching in her throat by the end.

Gajeel sat in front of the white haired girl, forcing her chin up to look at him.

"Lillian, you aren't making any Goddamned sense." he said, frustration rising in him. "You haven't told be everything that happened between you two. I need to know so I know what we're up against!"

Lillian looked at the frustration and fear in his eyes and felt a twinge of guilt pull at her heart. She was convinced that if he knew the truth, he'd hate her for sure. But she had to tell him. She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to form the words to finish her story.

"Mezun had really become like a brother to me over the year he was with us. He was odd, yes, but he always looked out for me. One day though, he came back after disappearing for a few days, and he was different somehow." Lillian shook her head and sighed. "I was so naive. I saw the signs, but I ignored them in fear pointing them out would drive him away."

"And then it happened, the day he so desperately wanted to teach me a technique. A technique he later revealed to me could not only control people," Lillian looked down in shame. "but could also take someone's magic away."

 _"Trust me, okay? You'll be able to use the other person's magic! Isn't that neat?" Mezun said, pleading to a slightly terrified Lillian._

 _"I don't know Mezun... Taking someone else's magic for your own?" Lillian bit at he lower lip "That just doesn't sound right."_

 _"Don't worry Lil, it doesn't take their magic from them, it just lets you use it!" Mezun said, smiling._

 _"Y-you sure?" she asked,_ _skeptical._

 _"Would I lie to you?" he asked wrapping her in a tight hug._

 _Lillian laughed, despite the heavy feeling that rested on her heart. This was Mezun! What was she freaking out about?_

 _"Alright, come on then! I want you to demonstrate your new talent to Simon." Mezun said, tugging at Lillian's hand and dragging her behind him._

 _"O-okay. I guess I can try." she said, a pit forming in her stomach._

 _The two hid behind a tree, watching as Simon trained alone in the middle of the woods. He was sending energy knives at a nearby tree, finally starting to be able to give his magic physical form rather than it just being pure energy. Mezun had instructed her on how to cast the spell, and that Simon wouldn't even know the spell had occurred. Then she could surprise him by mimicking his power. It sounded like a small, innocent joke._

 _Once she had confirmed once more that it was really okay, Lillian began the spell, chanting a few words and moving her arms a few ways. However, as soon as the last word left her lips, Simon began screaming in pure agony as he fell to the ground, convulsing violently._

 _"Oh no, Simon!" Lillian yelled, running over to her brother where he lay on the ground._

 _What happened?! What did she do? Did she do the spell wrong?_

 _Simon was curled in on himself, laying on his side, still screaming when Lillian rolled him over. The smell of copper hit Lillian like a train, and she had to swallow the bile that threatened to escape her mouth._

 _"Oh no no no no... Simon oh no. There's so much blood. Simon I'm so sorry, this is all my fault." on instinct Lillian channeled her inner power, silently thanked Nero for teaching her how to heal, then proceeded to work on her brother._

 _Eventually his cries became whimpers, and he sighed when Lillian had healed him enough to let him fall asleep._

 _"Good," Lillian said to herself. "almost good as new."_

 _"Well. That was unexpected."_

 _Lillian rounded on his voice, her face a scowl as she began screaming. "What the hell is wrong with you Mezun?! Did you think this would be funny? Because guess what, I'm not laughing!"_

 _Mezun chuckled and waved away Lillian's words. "Don't be silly." he said, turning a chilling grin onto Lillian. "It went exactly as I planned."_

 _Lillian's heart dropped into her stomach. No... he couldn't possible had wanted to purposely hurt Simon. They were like brothers!_

 _"So, you set all this up just to hurt him? Why?" she asked._

 _"No. I wanted Simon's power, but I was too weak to take it myself. Believe me, I tried. So I decided to get you to do it while I went and got stronger." he said, smirking. "After getting stronger I could have just taken it for myself, but it seemed better to get you to kill him, then me kill you. I forgot you could heal. Though I will say, it was an extra bonus to see that son of a bitch close to death." Mezun said, laughing._

 _She was on top of him so quickly, neither had much time to react. Her eyes burned with hatred as she straddled Mezun, an arm position to strike across his neck._

 _"Shut. The hell. Up." Lillian spat out the words in his face, pressing her weight down harder on his chest._

 _Mezun struggled against her hold as he growled, staring daggers at her. She didn't care though. A fire grew in her belly, boiling and threatening to spill over at the thought of spilling Mezun's blood. Lillian felt an unfamiliar power swelling within her as she raised her right arm, imagining it were a sword, and prepared to swing it down. Right through his throat._

 _"N-no...Lillian." a soft voice cut through the ringing in her ears, causing her to halt in her movements._

 _Lillian looked toward where Simon lay, where he was staring right at her, concern flooding his sweat covered face. What was she doing? She was about to... to_ kill _someone. Pain erupted through Lillian's face as she was thrown backwards, landing with a hard_ thud _on her back._

 _"Bitch." Mezun said, shaking and flexing his hand. "That's the last mistake you'll ever make."_

 _A white hot fire, cold as ice, spread through Lillian's blood as she coiled and twisted on the ground. She began to hear screaming all around her, taking her a moment to realize she was the one screaming._

 _"Oh man. This is just too much." Mezun said, laughing maniacally. "Thank you so much for the show. Oh, and the new powers."_

 _Lillian wanted to stand and fight, but she couldn't. All she could do was lay there as Mezun laughed, until her vision turned black._

Lillian sat there staring down at her hands, tears slowly streaming down her cheeks.

"When I woke up I was in so much pain. The same thing that happened to Simon happened to me, but he isn't a healer, so he couldn't help me very quickly." Lillian shuddered at the memory. "Simon was in hysteria over my injuries. He carried me ten miles to the closest healer who was able to help me, though I would forever have a scar."

Gajeel scrunched his eyebrows together. "Scar?"

Lillian nodded, tracing a finger diagonally over her stomach. "Seems when you force someone's magic from their body, you're literally ripping them open." She said shuddering again.

Gajeel, unsure what to do, reached out and gently laid his hand on top of Lillian's hair. She looked up at him and was startled by the somber look on his face. She thought for sure he'd be repulsed by her, or maybe laugh at her crying. But he seemed almost... sad.

"Why..."

Lillian looked up at Gajeel's question. Her heart slightly dropped at the sight of his face, which was scrunched into an angry scowl.

"Why do you sound like you blame yourself for all that?" Gajeel growled, gripping onto her shoulders tightly.

She dropped her eyes in shame fiddling with the ends of her hair, not wanting to meet his gaze, and shrugged. "I ignored all the signs that something was wrong and..."

"Just shut up." he growled again, startling her enough to look up at him.

Gajeel's eyes glowed angrily as he stared intently at Lillian. "He used you. You trusted him because he was important to you. He betrayed that trust. He's the one who's responsible!"

Lillian stared at him, confused by his out burst. "I-I thought... I thought you would hate me."

Lillian jumped at Gajeel's sudden laugh. "You really believed that? I'm sad at your lack of faith in me." he said, smirking slightly. "We're friends, aren't we?"

She didn't know she was crying until she felt the wetness hit her hands. Lillian threw her arms around Gajeel's neck, hugging him tightly to her. Slightly startled, he hugged her back just as tightly rubbing her back as she cried.

"Shh, it's alight." he murmured, and as if suddenly remembering, proceeded to stand lifting Lillian with him. "Come on, let's get out of this area and get you inside."

She nodded, letting Gajeel carry her as her legs still refused to respond. They walked back over to the mayors' home knocking on the door, and after a few knocks the door hesitantly opened. When he noticed who they were, his face paled as he shook his head back and fourth.

"P-please... leave us be. You coming here has only caused us more pain." he said, he voice riddled with sadness. "That... _man_ came to me. He told me he would let all the villagers go... but he killed Andrew because we sent you two after him." the man was shaking. "He said he was bored here, then vanished."

Lillian and Gajeel looked at each other in surprise, but before either could respond, the mayor slammed the door shut. Gajeel raised his fist to pound again, but Lillian stopped him by resting a hand on his arm and shaking her head.

"We should go..." she said, sadness clouding over her face.

Gajeel eventually nodded and began trudging back toward the water, deciding they should at least see if they can catch a boat ride back to Magnolia. Exhaustion began to overtake Lillian and she tucked her head into his neck, not noticing the slight blush that crept it's way onto Gajeel's face. Much to his surprise, the boat man was still at the dock and gladly offered them a ride. Gajeel climbed into the boat, happy that Lillian had fallen asleep, and sat down, holding her like a small child.

He accepted the silence, letting his thoughts wonder freely, though they occasionally returned to the girl slumbering in his arms. Strange how in just a few days he could come to care for her so deeply. Jeez, he was hopeless. He told himself her saw her as the little, annoying sister he never had, but there was that nagging feeling in the back of his mind. Every time light entered his life, the darkness of his past would quickly snuff it out.


	5. Feelings

**A/N:** Hello my lovelies! I had fun with this chapter, even though it's to mainly set up the Battle of Fairy Tail. My timeline of events is slightly different than the shows, but it's my story! So I'm aloud to do that. I hope you guys enjoy!

I do not own Fairy Tail.

* * *

Lillian groaned as she was aroused by the sound of knocking on the door. Mind still heavy with sleep, she dragged herself out of her bed and headed toward the door.

"Whatisit?" she asked, he words slurring together as she opened the door to an anxious looking blue haired girl.

"Oh! You're finally awake, I was so worried." Levy said, throwing her arms around Lillian smiling.

Lillian smiled back at the woman. During her short time at Fairy Tail, Levy had become like a sister to her. Letting her borrow as many books as she wanted, staying up until all hours of the night gossiping. She adored the short mage.

"Good to see you too Levy, though why were you worried about me? I was just asleep." Lillian said, cocking her head to the side.

"I've knocked quite a few times throughout today, but you never answered." she said, worry in her voice. "When Gajeel brought you back you were out cold. He said you were just exhausted from the long journey, but I could tell he was really worried about you."

Lillian's brows scrunched together as she finally looked around her. She didn't remember coming into her room after the mission, but here she was. If she were honest, she couldn't recall much after getting Gajeel to go on the trip with her. They had taken a boat ride, arrived to a small village, met Andrew...

Lillian's stomach dropped to her knees as the memories ambushed her all at once, almost knocking her over.

"Lillian!" Levy called, grabbing the girls' elbow before she could fall forward.

Lillian steadied herself, taking a few deep breaths. "I-I'm fine, thanks Levy." she said, trying to smile at the girl, but it coming out more as a grimace.

Looking unconvinced Levy led her back into Lillian's room, making her at least sit down on the couch that was positioned in front of the window.

"Lev, how long have I been asleep?" Lillian asked.

Levy thought for a moment before answering, worry written all over her face. "Almost two days, actually."

Lillian's eyes widened at this information, having expected the answer to be no more than a nights worth. She began biting at her lip, searching around frantically for her cell phone.

"Oh no. Simon must be worried sick." Lillian muttered.

After a few minutes she finally found it, and sure enough there were twenty unread texts and five missed calls.

"Crap."

She never did tell Simon she was leaving, and now he hasn't heard from her in over three days, which was completely unusual. She read the texts, guilt eating at her as she saw the words get increasingly more frantic. She sent him a quick message, reassuring him she was alright and that she'd call soon, before noticing a text from an unknown number.

"Tell me once you've woken up so I know you're okay."

"Huh." Lillian said too herself, wondering who had gotten a hold of her number without her knowledge. "Levy, do you know this number?" she asked, showing Levy the message.

"Hmm, it doesn't seemed to be one I recognize..." the girl said, chin in her hands. "Oh! What if it's Gajeel? It would make sense that he'd want to know when you woke up."

"I suppose so." Lillian said.

She sighed and shrugged, concluding there was no harm in answering, and sent the unknown person a message, saying she was awake and well.

"Well. Guess I'll wait and see, but in the meantime I think I'm gonna shower and head over to the guild." Lillian said giving Levy a goodbye hug, agreeing that they'd hang out soon.

As soon as Levy left Lillian stripped off her clothes, slightly disgusted when she realized she'd been wearing them for three days, and headed into the bathroom. She turned the water on hot as she waited for it to fill up the tub, deciding she needed a relaxing soak. She sighed as she eased herself into the steaming water, content flooding through her as she sat there in silence for what seemed like hours. Lillian leaned forward on her knees as sleep seemed to want to capture her again as her eyes fluttered shut.

As if they couldn't leave her alone, images began flashing across Lillian's eyes, threatening to jump through her and become reality. She gripped her knees tightly as small whimpers escaped her throat as she wished for sleep to take her. She hated these stupid memories and how they could wreck her so easily. She hated crying and showing weakness in front of others and never did it if she could help it, but here in the comfort of the hot water she let her shields down. Suddenly the hairs on her arms began to stand on end as she got the feeling someone was watching her.

"Uh, I- Sorry to interrupt but-"

"What the hell get out of here!" Lillian screamed, trying to cover her already mostly covered body as she looked toward the source of the voice.

Gajeel stood in the doorway, his mouth slacked open slightly and a blush covering his cheeks. He came to make sure she was in fact okay, but became worried when she wasn't in her room and when he heard cries emanating from the bathroom. He had meant to quickly shut the door once he realized she was in the bath, but became distracted by the angry looking scars that covered most of her back, and then remembered he was staring at a naked woman, and became flustered. Gajeel didn't realize Lillian was still yelling until multiple shampoo bottles began hitting him until he got the message and left the bathroom.

"What the actual hell?" Lillian angrily muttered to herself as she finally stepped out of the water, wrapping a towel around herself.

An angry blush covering her face she marched out of the bathroom, not caring she was only in a towel, and screwed Gajeel with her eyes.

"I have half a mind to punch you in the face you pervert." Lillian said, poking Gajeel hard in the chest.

She almost started yelling at him more, but stopped short when she noticed the almost angry look on his face. What's up with him? She's the one who should be angry!

"What's wrong?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Who did that to you?" Gajeel asked, almost growling.

Taken aback by his question she fidgeted under his hard stare. "W-... whataya mean? Did what?" she asked, though she had a suspicion.

"I'm talking about the fucking lash marks on your back." he said, his eyes flaring with anger.

Gajeel may have only known her for less than a week, but he'd kill whoever did that to her.

Lillian flinched at his tone and looked away from him, becoming slightly angry. "Well I don't think that's any of your business now is it?" she asked. "Now get out of my room. I need to get dressed."

She didn't give him a chance to respond or argue, for she had already started shoving him out the door, slamming it shut and locking it. Shaking her head Lillian decided this was going to be a lazy day and pulled on a pair of jeans, a black tank top, and a sweater over that. As she made the walk toward Fairy Tail Lillian decided to take that time and call Simon.

"Yes... Yes I'm fine... Really... Okay, yea. Bye." Lillian sighed as she put away her phone.

Simon was not happy with her. He had left on a mission the day she had, but it was much further away, so when he couldn't get a hold of her he had assumed the worst. She smiled to herself, despite feeling guilty about worrying him, at how much she cared for her brother and he her. Some might find his actions overbearing, but he had his reasons...

Lillian walked into Fairy Tail and was greeted by multiple hellos and waves from other members. Natsu smiled sheepishly at her and she smiled back giving him a small wave. She went and sat at her usual table and pulled out one of the books Levy had lent her and soon became lost in the words in front of her. Lillian was so engrossed she vaguely noticed the excited looking man running around and taking pictures of the guild members until a camera was shoved in front of her face, causing her to fall back off the bench with a small ' _oof_ '.

"You must be one of the newer members! Cool!" the man yelled while taking overly zealous photos of Lillian.

"I uh... If you could not-" Lillian stammered trying to shield her eyes from the flashes, but was cut off when the man spotted Erza and began yelling 'Cool!' and taking many pictures of her.

"Who the heck..." Lillian muttered.

"That's Mr. Jason, he's a reporter from Sorcerer Magazine." Mirajane said, showing up beside Lillian helping her to her feet.

"He's very... passionate about his work I see." Lillian said, rubbing at her sore bottom.

Mirajane laughed and nodded as they watched him continue to run around interviewing people, making Lillian laugh when she saw Lucy trying, to no avail, to get his attention. Mirajane told her she should get ready for her performance and Lillian tried to get back to her book, but found it more entertaining to watch Jason run around. Lucy was currently following the blond haired man around in a bunny suit when the lights in the guild dimmed and a spot light was shown onto the stage. Lillian smiled as Miras' sweet voice filled up the guild and everyone swayed to her melodic voice. Once she finished everyone cheered and clapped until the lights went off again, and when they turned back on there sat a dark haired man in a white suit, completed with a white hat and holding a guitar.

It was none other than Gajeel Redfox.

Lillian raised her eyes brows, curious as to what he was doing, when a horrible noise began assaulting her ears. Everyone else in the guild began groaning and throwing objects at Gajeel, trying to get him to stop singing. He was singing a song about friendship, but no one in the guild cared and continued yelling at him. Lillian felt bad for Gajeel, he was just trying to be nice toward the guild, but unfortunately for him no one seemed to like his way of presenting. As if unfazed Gajeel continued to sing and even though it hurt her ears to do so, Lillian forced herself to listen, even giving him a thumbs up and a smile when he looked her way.

Before she knew it an all out brawl was going on around her. Erza was running around yelling about avenging her destroyed cake while Natsu and Gajeel had started fighting, others joining as well. Makarov was crying trying to get everyone to settle down while Lillian laughed while watching everything take place. They may all be crazy and rambunctious, but they were her family, and she loved it all, even though through all of it no one noticed Laxus standing outside.

Eventually everyone had calmed down and was given a job to help clean up the guild hall. Lillian helped happily, chatting away with Lucy when she noticed she hadn't seen Levy since earlier. Curious she looked around and sure enough the blue haired girl was nowhere in sight.

"Hey Lucy, have you seen Levy?" Lillian asked.

Lucy paused in her mopping and looked around like Lillian had just done before shaking her head. "No, I haven't seen her. Weird."

"Hmm. I'm gonna go see if I can find her, I have a bad feeling about this." Lillian said as she quickly slipped out the front doors.

She walked around for a while, anxiety building within her like a balloon, until she heard yelling coming from not too far away. Lillian ran around the corner in time to see Laxus send a lightning attack right at Gajeel, who just stood there and took it.

Jet, Droy, and Levy stood behind Laxus near a tree, watching in horror.

"I heard some things that really pissed me off." Laxus was saying. "People were saying Fairy Tail is weak now. No one dared say that until you showed up!" the man yelled before sending another attack at Gajeel, causing him to yell in pain.

"Now you're gonna pay!" Laxus yelled sending more lightning.

"You're takin' this too far. Calm down man!" Jet said to Laxus. "I didn't realize till now he's not fighting back."

Levy stood there crying as Gajeel struggled to get to his feet, causing Laxus to continuously kick at him and scream.

"Give it a rest Laxus! Leave him alone!" Jet yelled.

"I'm not takin orders from you!" Laxus yelled sending a lightning bolt right toward the group, and right toward Levy's face.

"No!" Lillian screamed as she took off toward Levy, who covered her face with her arm, but Lillian wasn't fast enough.

The attack connected bursting with light and Lillian screamed again, but when the smoke cleared Gajeel was standing there, having taken the attack to the arm, protecting Levy. Lillian ran over and hugged the girl tightly and she hugged her back just as tight. Everyone stared at Gajeel as he stood there.

"You through with me now, cause I got other things to do." Gajeel said nonchalantly as he walked away.

Levy walked slightly toward him. "Uh, Gajeel I-"

"Leave me alone." Gajeel said not even turning around.

Laxus scoffed and stomped away, muttering under his breath. Levy had to hold the white haired girl back from running up and punching the guy in the face for what he'd done and almost did.

"Lillian no, he's not worth it." The girl said tugging at Lillian to go back to Fairy Hills.

Still glowering toward Laxus Lillian agreed, letting Levy drag her back to their homes. Lillian kept the short girl close to her as she continuously looked around, making sure Laxus wouldn't appear just to spite them. Once back at Fairy Hills the two girls crashed in Lillian's room as the two chatted away about things that had gone on when Lillian had left for her two week mission.

Levy told Lillian the whole story about when Phantom Lord attacked the guild, and how Gajeel had taken her and her team captive. She tried comforting Levy as best she could, but she could tell the blue haired girl didn't harbor any bad feelings toward him.

"I think he was so devoted to Phantom Lord, that when he was told to attack us, he figured it was the right thing to do." Levy said, throwing some popcorn in her mouth. "Also, I believe he's trying to make things right in his own way. Like letting the guys get their anger out on him." she shook her head. "Also he saved me! Could he really be all bad but then try and save people's lives?" she smiled a little to herself.

Lillian smiled at the girl knowingly and poked Levy's cheek repeatedly. "Do I sense some affection towards Gajeel?" She grinned triumphantly when Levy began blushing madly and stuttering around her words.

"W-What?! No! Of course n-not!" the girl said not meeting Lillian's eyes as she gave a cheeky grin. "He's rude and annoying, even if he did protect me. I could never like someone like that."

Lillian giggled and continued to poke at Levy as the blue haired mage swatted her hand away. "Besides, we haven't even had a full conversation. None of it would make sense to like him."

Lillian smiled sympathetically. "Love doesn't have to make sense. You just... feel it."

Levy blushed even more and shook her head back and fourth. "Who said anything about love?!" Levy stammered. "Like I said we've barely spoken, under normal circumstances that is."

Lillian crossed her arms, pouting at the girl. She could tell Levy really liked him, just by the way she was acting, so she wanted to help her close friend. The thought brought a foreign twinge in her heart, which she brushed off as she leaned toward Levy.

"Just leave it all to me." Lillian said, laughing when the blood drained from Levy's face.

She told Levy she'd talk to her later, and that she had business to attend to. Levy reluctantly nodded and watched as Lillian bounded out of Fairy Hills.

First thing's first, Lillian had to figure out where Gajeel was at currently. Her first stop was at the guild hall, but she came up empty handed. Next she went by his work but again, couldn't seem to find him. She was running around town blindly, about to give up hope of finding him that day, when a voice caught her off guard.

"Oi, Rainwater." Gajeel said from his spot inside a shop.

Lillian smiled over at him and walked over, then tilted her head. "Hey there-wait. Did you just call me 'Rainwater'?" she asked.

He shrugged and took a bite of the sandwich in his hands. "You're attacks always remind me of rain, so I thought it fitting."

Lillian grinned a little, appreciating the nickname but not wanting to tell him how funny it sounded, so decided to get to why she was there. "So hey, I've actually been trying to find you for a while."

Gajeel raised an iron-studded eyebrow. "If this is about Laxus, I don't wanna hear it." he said coldly.

Lillian shook her head. "No, I'm not here about that." she knew it was a dead end topic anyway. "I'm here because I have a request of you."

He seemed intrigued by this and sat his sandwich down in front of him. "You have my attention." he said, beginning to grin.

"Alright. Well first, what are your thoughts on Levy?" she asked, eyeing his response.

His face became one of confusion as he shrugged. "The shrimp? What about her?" he asked.

"What I mean is how do you feel about her?" Lillian pressed. "Like do you think she's cute or anything?"

Gajeel looked at Lillian, like he was trying to asses if she were serious, before shrugging again. "I don't really have an opinion on her."

Lillian huffed and crossed her arms before noticing the slight blush in his cheeks, and she began squealing. He looked at her like she'd lost her mind as she then proceeded to shake his arm.

"Oh my gosh you _have_ to ask her on a date!"

"WHAT?! Have you lost your mind woman?" Gajeel said, almost spiting out his food.

"Not one bit." she said, smiling. "I think you guys could be cute together! Come on."

"Absolutely not. Besides I'm pretty sure she doesn't think very highly of me"

"That's where you're wrong" she smiled when his scowl disappeared. "I'm pretty sure she not only likes you, but would definitely say yes to a date."

Gajeel pondered this for a while before glancing over at the white haired girl to see her still smiling at him. Did she really want him to do this so badly? It couldn't hurt, could it?

Gajeel sighed deeply before groaning. "Fine. I'll ask her out on a date."

Lillian cheered and wrapped him in a hug laughing. "I knew it! I knew you had a thing for her!" she smiled more, ignoring the same twinge in her heart.

"Hey I'm not saying that, I'm doing this to get you to shut up."

"I don't believe that! And you better not say that to her, or I will seriously hurt you." Lillian growled.

Gajeel rolled his eyes wiping his face with his hands. "Do I have to do this now?" he asked.

"Yes! The evenings still young!" Lillian said, jumping up and down.

He shook his head at the girl until a thought struck him. "What if she says no?"

"Don't worry, she won't." Lillian said reassuringly.

Gajeel grumbled but nodded as he stood up from his seat. "Fine. I guess now's as best time as any. Is she home?"

Lillian nodded and gave him directions to Fairy Hills and which room was Levy's. With a final goodbye Lillian watched Gajeel head toward Fairy Hills, smiling and waving. She was happy, she told herself. Her two closest friends would get together, and it would be great.

Right?

* * *

 **A/N:** What a bunch of randomness to put into one chapter! And don't you guys worry, this is still GajeelxLillian. I think I'm self projecting into Lillian a little because if I ever slightly liked someone I would never be sure of it, or convinced they didn't like me, and if a friend liked them I would fully support it and try and get them together. Next chapter is going to mainly be the battle of Fairy Tail.

On to the next!


	6. The Battle

**A/N:** Hello my lovelies! I'm so sorry for being so inconsistent with chapters here recently. I didn't have too much time to write because of finals and then during break I could not find the motivation to write. Also I still don't have much motivation, I don't have writers block I just haven't wanted to write much.. But! I've been thinking of a few scenarios and a possible love interest for Simon in later chapters, so I'm excited to do that. I think I freak myself out when I'm excited for a bunch of stuff I want to implement, but then don't know how to show it all.

Still, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.

I do not own Fairy Tail.

P.S: I think I realized why I haven't wanted to write. I don't like following the original source material, so where certain important events will be the same in my story, I'm not gonna put as much emphasis on accuracy in future chapters. I believe this will help me want to write a lot more. ^-^

* * *

Lillian knew right away when her phone started frantically buzzing that Gajeel had asked Levy out. She glanced down at her phone to find erratic texts from Levy ranging from anger at Lillian for sending Gajeel over, and excitement that he had asked her out. Lillian smiled to herself, glad that her plan had worked out so well, and quickly texted Levy back asking about the upcoming date. The girl eagerly replied explaining that they were going to go on their date after the Fantasia Parade.

Oh yea, Lillian had heard the master talking about the festivities that would be going on that day, starting with the Miss Fairy Tail contest. She had thought about participating, especially because the reward could be very helpful, but decided against it because she wasn't sure what kind of things she'd have to do and didn't feel like showing her scars to the world.

As soon as Lillian entered the guild she was swept up by two large arms as the life was nearly squeezed out of her.

"Thank God you're alright." Simon muttered, which surprised her.

"Hey, I told you I was fine. We've been apart longer than this before." she said looking up to see the deep worry in her brother's brown eyes, and the pit in her stomach returned.

"I know you did." his eyes bore into her and she fidgeted under his gaze. "But, Lil, you know I hate it when you lie to me."

Lillian sighed and bit at her bottom lip, avoiding his gaze, hating how well he could always read her. "It technically wasn't a lie. Physically I'm fine." she looked down at her hands. "But I guess mentally I'm not."

"I knew it. C'mon, let's sit over here and talk while the contest starts." Simon said as he lead her to one of the guild's back tables.

Lillian nodded and slid onto the bench next to her brother, biting at her lip again. She didn't know how to even begin telling what had happened on the trip, who they ran into. Thankfully at that moment the Miss Fairy Tail contest started, giving her a few more seconds to collect her thoughts.

"W-well..." Lillian cleared her throat before reaching for her brother's hand lightly.

Jeez this was hard. How was she supposed to tell him that the man who almost killed them as well as took his powers, was back? Simon squeezed her hand lightly and she looked up to see him smiling encouragingly, but she couldn't find it in her to smile back.

Taking a deep breath and looking back to their hands Lillian decided the sooner she said it the better. "I ran into Mezun." she blurted out.

If she had been watching his face, she would have seen the emotions that flashed in his eyes. Shock, anger, fear, worry, then anger again. Lillian felt his grip tighten on her hand and she looked up to a fire glowing in her brother's eyes.

"Tell me everything." Simon said, almost growling.

And she did. She told him everything from arriving to the island, meeting the mayor, finding Mezun and fighting him, then being kicked out. She left out the part where she had fallen apart in front of Gajeel, still embarrassed by that fact.

"But I'm okay, rea-"

"Everyone get out of here, now!" a voice yelled as it rang throughout the crowded guild hall.

Lillian glanced up in time to see the whole crowd bolt out of the guild and into the streets. Confused Lillian looked up to the stage to see a women in a green dress she didn't recognize standing next to a stone statue. A stone statue that looked awfully familiar...

"That's Lucy!" Lillian exclaimed jumping up from her seat.

"What do you think you're doing Evergreen?! You'll ruin the festival for everyone!" Makarov said, walking toward the woman.

The woman chuckled. "On the contrary, I think things are just getting interesting."

Just as she spoke the large curtain that was behind her raised to reveal all the contestants turned to stone, just as Lucy was.

"Don't be a fool. Return them to normal this instant!" Makarov said.

Suddenly lightning struck the stage bringing with it a cloud of smoke. Once cleared, Laxus was revealed standing on the stage.

"Well, looks like all your fans decided to run home. Pity, because the party's about to start!" Laxus said, a manic smile on his face.

By this point Lillian had run over to stand by Elfman, Simon following close behind her. Looking around other members began to notice Freed and Bickslow, the rest of the Thunder Legion, in their midst, which caused great dismay.

"C'mon, let's have some fun!" Laxus said

"I've had about enough of your nonsense. Turn them back or else!" Makarov exclaimed.

Laxus grinned. "You'd better play nice if you want these ladies to join the parade."

A cloud of lightning began to form above Lucy's head.

"No stop!" Makarov yelled.

The bolt struck the ground just a few feet away from where Lucy stood.

"In other words I'm taking all of 'em hostage. Break the rules and I'll shatter these chicks one by one. Or I could just smash them all right now."

"I'm not amused Laxus, stop fooling around!" Makarov yelled.

"I'm serious Old Man."

All around Laxus the rest of the Thunder Legion appeared.

"I've always wondered who was the strongest in the guild. Now it's time to find out." Freed said, sounding very unamused.

"Yeah let's have some fun!" Bickslow said, his little spirits repeating the word 'fun'.

"There's only one rule. Whoever's left standing in the end's the winner." Laxus said, grinning wildly. "It's a Fairy Tail battle royale!"

"Nice and simple, that's just how I like it." Natsu said, slamming his fist down on the table.

"Glad you could see it my way. If nothing else you've got the right attitude." Laxus said.

"This is a festival right? Let's party." Natsu said, walking towards Laxus.

"Natsu no! This is ridiculous." Lillian exclaimed, running to stand between him and Laxus.

"Huh? Get outa the way Lillian!" Natsu yelled.

"Absolutely not." she said, before turning and grinning at Laxus. "Because I'm gonna fight this idiot."

Laxus laughed as he looked down at the white haired girl. "I don't think we've formally met. Who are you?"

Lillian crossed her arms over her chest, giving a sly grin. "Oh me? I'm your worst nightmare." Laxus chuckled again. "But I guess you can call me Lillian." she said before aiming an attack towards Laxus.

He was much quicker than her though and beat her to the punch, sending out a bolt of lightning right towards her. Before she could even think about dodging, Simon had jumped in front of her, taking the attack himself.

"Simon!" Lillian screamed bending down to check on him, hands shaking.

"Naturally if you want me to turn the girls back to normal," Evergreen said. "you're going to have to defeat us first."

"But those odds aren't bad. There's four of us and like a hundred of you guys." Bickslow said, laughing.

"You have three hours and not a second more. After that these pretty statues of yours will be reduced to dust." Evergreen said, smiling.

"All of Magnolia serves as the battle field. The fight will begin when and _if_ you find us." Laxus said.

"Laxus how could you? I WON'T STAND FOR THIS!" Makarov yelled as he quickly took on his large form, ready to fight his grandson.

"Now now, simmer down old man! It's all part of the festival right?!" Laxus yelled as lightning began to form around him, blinding everyone in the guild hall.

"IT'LL BE FUN! LET THE BATTLE OF FAIRY TAIL BEGIN!" he yelled, before disappearing along with his tribe.

Within a few moments everyone in the guild had run outside to help try and get the girls back, leaving behind only a few people. Simon came to quickly, assuring Lillian he was fine. Makarov began yelling and turned to head out too, but ran full force into a magic wall, blocking his exit.

"What is that?" Lillian asked, jogging over towards the master.

"Looks like one of Freed's enchantments, explaining how no one over eighty can leave." the master said with a grimace.

"Don't worry Master, we'll find Laxus and make him pay for what he's done. " Lillian said as she glanced to her frozen friends and her almost-fried brother.

"Good. With you and Natsu, we might have a chance at defeating him." the master said.

Nodding Lillian turned to run out the guild doors, but was met with the same wall that Makarov had just run into.

"What?! Why can't I get through?!" Lillian exclaimed pounding against the wall.

"Don't tell me you're over eighty!" Makarov yelled looking heartbroken.

"I don't think so!" she yelled back staring at the wall confused. "Natsu? Why don't you try?" she asked pointing to the entrance.

"Psh, easy." he said running full force into the force field. "What the hell!"

Lillian sighed and shook her head walking over to sit by the stone girls. She silently made a promise to herself that she would do everything in her power to get Levy and the others free. In mid thought Lillian heard what sounded like the crunching of metal and looked to her right to see Gajeel laying behind the bar, casually munching on iron. Eyes narrowed she walked over to the lounging man until she was standing over him, hands on her hips.

"Aren't you going to go out and try and help your guild?" Lillian asked.

Gajeel huffed and shrugged still eating. "I guess I could. I don't have much else to do." he stood and made his way to the door. "I've got a score to settle with him anyway." he said. Right before smacking into the wall.

Everyone screamed in disbelief as Gajeel pealed himself away in shock.

"What the hell is going on?!" he exclaimed.

"Ah well. I guess I'll go free Erza." Natsu said nonchalantly.

"What?!" Makarov yelled. "You mean you've know how to free them this whole time!"

"Well I wanted a little more time to try and fight Laxus myself, but seeing as none of us can leave" Natsu started walking toward Erza, hand encased in fire. "I guess I have no other options."

"What are you insane?" Simon yelled. "You gonna try and burn her?!"

"I'm not that stupid! My fire should be able to easily melt the stone off her." Natsu replied.

"She's not covered in stone she is stone!" Happy exclaimed, trying to knock some sense into his friend.

"Won't know until we try." Natsu said, extending his fire out towards Erza.

"Watch were you put those fire hands bro." Gajeel said.

Just then a crack appeared down Erza's forehead.

Everyone screamed as Natsu began pleading for forgiveness, more and more cracks appearing down her. Just then all the stone exploded out, revealing a confused looking Erza.

"I feel hot." Erza said, eyes narrowing. "It was you, wasn't it?" she said glowering at Natsu.

Lillian sighed with relief as the master explained to Erza the situation going on with Laxus. Erza agreed to go out and fight and hope swelled within the small group that was trapped inside of Fairy Tail as she ran out through the barrier.

"Hey, I need to tell you something." Simon said, tugging at Lillian's elbow.

Lillian nodded as the two siblings stood over beside the wall, away from the commotion of waiting for Erza's fight to end.

"Okay so, what did you wanna talk about?" Lillian asked, worry starting to build in her stomach.

Simon stuck his hands in his pockets and looked at his sister with confidence. "I'm going out to fight."

Lillian's eyes widened as she thought about her magic-less brother going out to fight his own guild, as well as the maniacs that started this whole thing.

"No, no. Absolutely not! You'll get killed by those idiots." Lillian said, fear leaking into her voice.

"Lil, I'm not some defenseless twat." His features turned slightly dark, "I know I don't have my magic anymore, but over the years I've still been training." From the pack strapped on his back, Simon pulled out two deadly looking swords.

Lillian chewed at her lower lip as she looked at her brother, really looked at him. When had he become so muscular? She'd always felt bad for him because of his magic being stolen, so it also worried her when he'd participate in any kind of fighting. At the same time she already knew what an amazing fighter he was. With a sigh Lillian threw her arms around her brother's neck, almost knocking him off balance.

"Please be careful," she said as tears threatened to escape her eyes. "Laxus is crazy, and so are his comrades. I don't think they'd hesitate in killing you."

Simon hugged his sister tightly to his chest, rubbing her back as he felt her tears fall on his neck. "Hey, hey. I'm going to be fine. I promise." he said.

Simon gently pulled the sniffling girl from him as he gave her a huge smile as he put away his swords. Lillian smiled back lightly, wiping her face. Suddenly there were cheers around them, and Lillian looked over her shoulder to see that all the girls were no longer stone.

"See, Erza kicked Evergreen's butt! Now all that's needed to be done is defeat the rest of 'em." Simon said as he turned and ran right out of the guild.

"Simon, wait!" Lillian yelled, though Simon had already ran out.

Shaking her head Lillian turned around and ran to her short friend, hugging her tightly.

"Levy! I'm so happy you're okay." Lillian said, smiling and crying more.

"I am too." Levy said as she smiled and hugged her back.

Just as everybody was beginning to feel hopeful a large, red skull materialized out of Freed's spell. Laxus' voice rang throughout the guild.

"Seems one of the rules has gone out the window. That's fine. Since I wouldn't want the Battle of Fairy Tail to end early, I'll just add a new one. I've decided to initiate the Thunder Palace. You have an hour and ten minutes, good luck."

As the skull disappeared, the master became enraged, causing him to double over in pain.

"Master! Are you okay?" Lillian asked, rushing over to him.

"I'll go get his medicine!" Mirajane said, running upstairs.

"You'll be okay Master, don't worry." Levy said.

"What did he mean by thunder palace?" Natsu asked.

"Everybody, look outside!" Mirajane yelled, pointing outside of the guild.

Everyone ran out onto the balcony quickly, stopping in their tracks when they saw the hundreds of orbs floating above the city.

"Those look like lightning lacrima." Levy said.

"That means Laxus did this." Cana said, a scowl on her face. "If he sets those off, everything within them will be burned to a crisp."

"I won't let that happen!" Bisca yelled as she aimed her gun at one of the lacrima and fired.

The orb exploded and Bisca smiled proudly, ready to shoot another, before suddenly screaming as lightning began attacking her.

"No, Bisca!" Lillian yelled.

"What's happening? Why is it hurting her?" Lucy asked, her eyes wide.

Levy ran to Bisca, trying to get her to wake.

"It's probably body link magic. If we destroy those lacrima, we get hit with the magic within." Cana said, a look of disgust on her face.

Cana and Lucy ran out into the city to try and get people out safely as Natsu became more and more enraged that he couldn't leave himself.

"Natsu calm down." Lillian said as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"I can't calm down! These invisible walls are everywhere, I can't get out!" Natsu yelled, slamming his fists against the barrier.

"They're script magic." Levy said, a smiling forming on her face.

"Which means you can probably counteract it, right?" Lillian asked grinning.

"Wait you can do that?" Gajeel asked, slightly dumbfounded.

Levy beamed. "Of course. And when I do, you guys will be free to go track down Laxus."

Back inside the guild, Lillian and Gajeel sat on the floor with Levy as she reasoned out loud the aspects of Freed's spell. Lillian read a similar book beside Levy, her face scrunching up as she tried to make sense of the words.

"Lev, you gotta teach me this stuff sometime." Lillian said, giving up on the book.

Her friend didn't really hear her as she was engrossed in writing. "I promise I'll break this spell." Levy said.

"Eh, it's not really important to me." Gajeel said nonchalantly.

"It is to me." Lillian said, looking over at the iron dragon. "We have to beat Laxus, no matter what."

Gajeel looked back at the girl, slightly realizing how important this guild was to her. Lillian sighed and flopped back on her back beside Levy, not sure what else she could do to help.

"Hey, look!" Natsu yelled. "Lucy kicked Bickslow's butt!"

"What?! You mean that princess can actually fight?" Gajeel exclaimed.

"Yea she's tough as nails." Natsu said proudly.

"But she's a cheerleader! They can't fight!" Gajeel said.

"What? You've never heard of the story of the tortoise and the cheerleader?" Natsu asked.

"It was a hare you moron, and the bunny lost remember?" Gajeel said.

Meanwhile, Levy was in deep thought, grumbling about how she couldn't understand, before suddenly sitting up.

"That's it!" she yelled.

"What's what?" Lillian, Gajeel, and Natsu all said at once.

After a few moments of Levy feverishly writing, she finally exclaimed, "It worked!"

"Yea!" the three dragon slayers yelled.

"Just give me a second to rewrite the enchantment." Levy said. "When I'm done here, the three of you will join that battle of Fairy Tail. I hope you're ready."

* * *

"I have no idea where Laxus could be." Lillian said aloud to herself.

Levy had instructed that they all split up so that they don't get trapped in one of Freed's enchantments, so Lillian was currently running around blindly alone. As she turned a corner she ran right smack into someone's back.

"Oh gosh sorry." Lillian said, before realizing who it was.

"Eh, it's no prob Lil." Simon said, smiling slightly.

He looked very banged up. He had bruises forming all over his body, and he heavily leaned against the wall like it hurt to stand.

"Simon!" Lillian went right into care mode, instantly trying to help her brother in any way she could.

"Hey listen, I'm fine okay?" Simon said, wincing as Lillian straightened out his leg. "You need to find Laxus."

"No. Making sure you're okay is the only important thing right now." Lillian said as she looked at her brother's face.

Simon shook his head and looked into his sister's blue eyes. "If you don't stop Laxus, it won't matter if I'm okay or not."

The two looked up when they began hearing extremely loud crashing and what sounded like fighting coming from very close by.

"Go. Now." Simon said, shooing his sister forward.

With a nod Lillian gave her brother a quick kiss on the cheek, stood, and ran towards the fighting. It didn't take her too long to find the large building that lightning and fire was spewing out of. Lillian ran inside just in time to see Gajeel grab Natsu, saving him from one of Laxus' attacks.

"Hey!" Lillian yelled, walking inside. "I have a bone to pick with you."

Laxus laughed as he took in the sight before him. "Well, look who we have here. The girl who thought she could fight me has come back for seconds."

"Leave her alone!" Natsu yelled.

"No, I'm here to help you guys fight." Lillian said, taking her stance.

Laxus began laughing even more, and while his guard was down, Lillian struck.

"Water Dragon's Iron Fist!" she yelled, running quickly and connecting with Laxus' jaw.

He flew back, a surprised look on he face as he slammed into the ground.

"Heh, bad mistake." Laxus muttered.

Lillian had already sent out another attack when Laxus sent out a lightning bolt, causing it to travel through the water back to Lillian. She screamed loudly as lightning passed through her, almost causing her to pass out.

"Lillian!" Gajeel and Natsu yelled.

Gajeel and Natsu began fighting Laxus as Lillian regained her footing before joining in. Even with three of them, Laxus showed no signs of stopping. With each of their attacks he would respond by viciously attacking back.

"Water Dragon's Typhoon!" Lillian yelled as water assaulted Laxus from every direction.

Screaming Laxus used his lighting to propel himself towards her.

"It's time you learned bitch!" Laxus yelled punching her across the face.

She fell with a thud and Laxus proceeded to kick her repeatedly in the stomach, legs and chest. Her cries rang out until suddenly the lightning was gone. Gajeel had come in and hit Laxus, causing him to fly across the room.

"I'm gonna get you outa here, okay?" Gajeel said, bending down towards her.

She nodded trying, unsuccessfully, not to yell out when he moved her body.

"Salamander, take care of him while I get her somewhere else!"

Gajeel turned and began running with Lillian in his arms towards the exit.

"And where do you think you're going?" Laxus' condescending voice rang out, seconds before both Gajeel and Lillian were hit full force with lightning.

The two went flying forward, landing with a painful _thud_ onto the pavement outside.

The next thing Lillian knew she was waking up to the smell of disinfectant and the feeling of a bed underneath her.

She sat up quickly, expecting to keep fighting, and instantly regretted it as she bent over the side of the bed and threw up.

"Hey hey, slow down. You're safe." a calm voice said from her other side.

Lillian looked over to see Gajeel sitting there, almost completely covered in bandages.

"Wh-what happened? Did we win?" she asked, assuming they did because she was still alive and inside Fairy Tail.

Gajeel smiled. "Of course we did. Though, Salamander got to give the finale punch."

Lillian sighed and leaded back against the pillows. "I'm so sorry I wasn't much help." she said, sounding defeated.

Gajeel gave her a funny look before leaning towards her. "You really don't remember, do you?" he asked.

Lillian shook her head, looking sad. "I don't remember anything after I passed out." She jumped with surprise when Gajeel began laughing. "What? What's so funny?" she asked, agitation building inside her.

"What's funny is I remember you doing quite a number on Laxus." he said.

"What do you mean? I punched him a few times, but nothing that could have done that much to him." Lillian said.

"Well, what I remember is feeling like shit because we had just hit the ground. I looked over to see if you were alright to find your eyes glowing as you stood back up." Gajeel paused, watching Lillian's face go pale. "You roared and ran back inside and began whaling on the guy."

Lillian felt sick to her stomach. She'd let her guard down, and the beast had come out.

"Hey whoa, what's wrong?" Gajeel asked, standing when he noticed Lillian crying.

"N-nothing. It's nothing." Lillian wiped her face and then put her hand out. "Can you help me up?"

Gajeel took her arm and helped her stand on her own feet. Suddenly she smiled, and the girl he had come to know came back to the surface.

"Come on, I wanna see the Fantasia Parade!" Lillian said, leaning heavily on Gajeel as they headed down the stairs.

Gajeel chuckled at her sudden mood change as he helped her walk, not showing how much it hurt him to walk himself.

"Oh yea, you and Levy are supposed to go on a date tonight." Lillian said.

Gajeel shrugged, grunting slightly as they hit that bottom of the stairs. "We aren't going on a date."

Lillian's eyes widened. "What!? Why not?" she asked, ignoring how her heart fluttered slightly.

"She came while you were still sleeping and said how she appreciated the offer, but she'd have to decline." he said.

Lillian stared at him. "Why would she suddenly change her mind?" she asked.

"How should I know?" he said shrugging.

The two eventually made it to the parade in time to see their guild up on floats celebrating. Lillian smiled as she watched and waved to all her friends as they went by, laughing when she saw what the master was wearing.

Without anyone noticing Gajeel smiled to himself as he watched Lillian light up as she watched the parade, confident that she'd never know the real reason him and Levy weren't going on a date.

 _~Earlier that evening~_

 _A soft knock came from the infirmary door, blue hair appearing a moment later._

 _"Hey Gajeel, how's she doing?" Levy said, closing the door behind her before sitting beside him._

 _"She hasn't woken yet." was all he replied with, his gaze still fixed on Lillian's sleeping, almost completely bandaged, face._

 _"She will, don't worry." Levy said with a smile._

 _Levy looked over at the iron dragon to see bags under his eyes and bandages that looked like they needed replacing._

 _"Have you been here all day?" she asked._

 _Gajeel just nodded, barely glancing in Levy's direction. With a small smile it all became clear to Levy._

 _The girl gently patted Gajeel's hand. "I have to decline your offer of that date." she said._

 _"What?" that got Gajeel's attention as he looked towards her. "Why do you say that?"_

 _Levy smiled again and gestured toward Lillian. "Because I think we both know who you really want to be with."_

 _Gajeel's mouth flopped open, trying to come up with a response when Levy began giggling._

 _"Don't worry, I'm not mad or hurt. In fact, I think you two are quite perfect for each other." Levy said, smiling at his blushed face._

 _"We've only known each other for a few weeks." Gajeel blurted._

 _She shrugged and stood up, looking from Gajeel to her friend and smiling again. "Just be sure you treat her right, I'm not afraid to hurt you myself."_

 _With a finale giggle Levy left the room, leaving behind a flabbergasted Gajeel._

* * *

 **A/N** : Finally! I'm so sorry for the long wait, but I hope this longer chapter makes up for it a little. Reviews are helpful so that I know what you guys are liking, or if what I wrote didn't make sense. Thanks for reading!

On to the next!


	7. What Now?

"Okay come on, you're not even trying!"

"Of course I am! I just… slipped."

It had been a few weeks since Laxus and his group made their attack on Fairy Tail, and most of the guild was still recovering from injuries.

"From here it looked like you were holding back. C'mon! Do your worst!"

Simon angrily wiped the sweat from his forehead as he stared at his sister, who was grinning wildly at him despite the heat.

Most likely at his expensive, he thought, growling.

"Can't we just be done for today? It's so ungodly hot out." Simon moaned.

"Nuh uh! Nope! Heat is the best motivator." Lillian said wiping at her own sweat.

The siblings had set up training behind the guild hall where they were able to be mostly alone, nobody wanting to be outside for long.

Simon had long ago discarded any clothing that was unnecessary, leaving him with brown, cargo-like shorts. Lillian came prepared wearing only shorts and wrappings around her breasts, giving her quick mobility. She swiftly rushed forward, shooting an attack at Simon who blocked it just as quickly with his swords. He grinned as he pushed Lillian away before running towards her again.

Girls in the guild who dared brave the heat, collectively stared at Simon as he trained, sweat dripping down his toned back. Any guys, however, who tried to stare at Lillian, were given death glares by Gajeel.

Simon parried each of Lillian's attacks with ease, her previous injuries hindering her from using her full potential. With a quick slash, Lillian fell hard to the ground with an _oof_ , looking up to see Simon's sword at her throat and a smirk on his face.

With a huff, she swatted his weapon away, "Fine, we can be done." She said holding her hand out.

With a smile, Simon sheathed his swords before gripping Lillian by her forearm, pulling her to her feet.

The pair headed back inside the guild, Lillian giving Gajeel a large smile and wave as she passed him. She almost missed the small upturn of his mouth before his features returned to their originally neutral state.

Once inside Simon went and investigated the request board, looking for something not too far away.

"You thinkin' of taking a job?" Lillian asked, walking up and placing her elbow on his shoulder.

"Yea, I gotta pay rent soon." He shrugged. "Wanna come with?"

Lillian tapped her chin, "Eh, I think I'm going to hold off for another week. My arm's still kind of wrecked." She explained.

"Oh, a while back I stumbled across this natural hot spring not too far from here." Simon said, "It's really great on injuries."

Lillian's eyes lit up. "That sounds awesome!"

After explaining exactly where it was, Lillian stopped by her apartment to grab clothes then went straight for the spring.

Lillian walked through the woods, birds singing all around her. She breathed in deeply, thinking back to the last few weeks. She came so close to losing so many people important to her. Simon was her best friend, the one she went to when times were rough. Levy had quickly become the sister she'd never had, she could tell her anything. And Gajeel…

Lillian shook her head. She didn't know what Gajeel was to her. She knew they were friends, but sometimes there seemed to be something… more. Something she couldn't explain with words. He was finally seeming to open up to her, maybe…

Lillian was broken out of her thoughts when she realized she had arrived at the hot spring. She walked inside what looked to be a small cave system, only able to see by the light lacrimas scattered inside the walls. The waves of heat instantly greeted Lillian has she made her way deeper into the cave, eventually finding a small opening with a large pool in the center.

She smiled as she walked over to the wall, beginning to strip off her clothes. Placing them a good way away from the water, Lillian dipped her foot into the water.

"Oh man, I've needed this." She said, slowly sinking into the water, sighing deeply as she did.

Lillian closed her eyes and leaned her head back, letting the spring work its' magic on her sore muscles. After a few minutes, her ears perked up at the sound of footsteps coming from the front of the cave, seeming to be coming closer.

Slowly Lillian stood up out of the water, trying to peer around the corner. A familiar smell quickly filled her nose right before she caught the sight of red eyes.

"G-Gajeel?"

He stopped in his tracks and looked at Lillian, blushing as he quickly averted his eyes to the wall. She looked down at herself, quickly realizing she still didn't have on anything.

Lillian screamed, quickly sending up a wall of water between her and Gajeel before sinking low into the water.

"W-what are you doing here?!" Lillian yelled, glaring daggers at him as she dropped the water back into the spring.

Gajeel kept a hand over his eyes as he began to chuckle. "Sorry, I didn't know anyone else knew about this place."

She huffed, keeping her arms over her chest and the water up to her shoulders, even though the water was too steamy to see through. After a few awkward moments, Lillian sighed and turned her back to Gajeel.

"Go on, I don't mind you coming in." she said.

Gajeel looked over at her, hesitating for only a moment before setting his things aside and joining her inside the spring. Lillian turned back around, facing a shirtless Gajeel. Heat rose in her cheeks as she looked over his muscular form. For the few months she'd known him, she had never seen him shirtless she realized.

 _It's a good look on him_ , she thought to herself. With the both of them in the water, there wasn't that much empty room. Moving a few feet over, she could easily be able to touch his arm and his chest. She wondered if he had brought swim shorts, or if didn't have…

"Rainwater, hello?" Gajeel said, waving his had in front of her eyes.

Lillian jumped slightly, "Huh, what?" she asked.

"You kept staring at me." He said raising an eyebrow at her, as if he knew what track her thoughts had been taking.

Lillian rolled her eyes, sinking lower into the water, avoiding eye contact.

They sat like that for a few moments, the once awkward tension turning into comfortable silence.

Lillian groaned slightly as she tiled her head back and forth, stretching out her neck. After unsuccessfully trying to rub the knots out herself, Lillian glanced over at Gajeel who was leaned back with his eyes closed. With a smirk, she slowly scooted over, tapping him on his arm.

Gajeel glared down to see Lillian giving him puppy-dog eyes, her hands clasped together.

He narrowed his eyes, "What do you want?" he asked.

"Do you think you could massage my shoulders for me?" Lillian asked in a small, cute voice. "Pleeease?"

Gajeel rolled his eyes at her ridiculousness. After a few moments of staring he eventually sighed and gave in.

"Fine."

Lillian smiled happily. She turned around and sunk into the water so that her breasts were submerged, folding her arms over the edge to place her head on.

Gajeel hesitated a moment before gently brushing her hair off to the side, beginning to rub her shoulders. Lillian made a content noise, relaxing against his touch. He pressed areas on her back and back to her shoulders, noticing how smooth her skin was.

He couldn't stop his eyes from traveling down her back, thoroughly examining her scars. Anger slowly began to bubble up in him again as he imagined how those came to be there.

"Ow, Gajeel." Lillian said, squirming under his rough touch.

"Yea, sorry." He muttered, loosening his grip.

Lillian glanced back at him, at the angry look on his face, and frowned. She pressed more into the water, causing Gajeel to move backwards as she turned to face him.

"Gajeel, why does it bother you so much that I have scars?" Lillian murmured, looking up at him.

Gajeel ran his hand through his hair angrily, "It pisses me off because you shouldn't have them. No one should have laid their hands on you like that! I hate thinking of what you must have gone through to get those."

Lillian's lip quivered slightly, but she smiled up at him. "I'm glad I have someone like you that cares so much about me." Tears rolled down her face as she spoke. "Everything hasn't always been easy, but I like to think it's all happened for a reason." she shrugged.

She looked down at the water, tears falling quicker. "I mean, I got to meet you." she laughed slightly, wiping at her face. "Sorry, I cry for no reason most of the time."

Without thinking, Gajeel pulled Lillian into himself, holding her tightly

"Don't worry about it." He muttered, gripping her protectively.

Lillian blushed wildly, but smiled anyway. As if realizing what he'd done, Gajeel quickly put her down, turning away.

He cleared his throat, "Well, I'll see you back at the guild than?"

Lillian giggled and nodded, "Yea, I'll be there."

Gajeel nodded, climbing out of the water, shorts dripping wet. Without a look back he gathered up his things and exited the cave.

Lillian sat there for a moment, her heart beating wildly out of her chest. Shaking her head she changed back into her clothes and started back towards the guild.

* * *

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Gajeel muttered to himself, smacking himself on the forehead.

She's just some girl, so why does Lillian always have these effects on him? When she is around, he can't help but want to be near her; she fogs up his brain. Not just that, but he swears he can feel his magic react to her presence as well. Like a tingling under his skin, itching to reach out and touch her.

But it also made him act like an idiot.

Gajeel growled and punched the side of a nearby tree in exasperation. He couldn't wrap his brain around what about her was different. He had been with multiple alluring women, none of whom made him feel like… this.

It's not that she wasn't attractive, quite the opposite actually. She was beautiful. But unlike the others, whose beauty mostly ended at their looks, Lillian had a personality to match.

That's what had been bugging Gajeel the most; she was too good for him. It didn't matter what he felt, he knew she could never fall for someone like him, especially with his past. With growl of anger Gajeel took off running, needed to clear his mind before he returned to the guild.

* * *

Lillian arrived back at the guild, hair still slightly dripping, when she was suddenly swept up by multiple pairs of arms.

"Oh Lillian, you're finally here! We can fill you in." Lucy said excitedly.

"Huh? Fill me in on what?" Lillian asked, unsure if she wanted to know the answer.

"Well, we all figured since there's been so much negativity lately," Mirajane started,

"We're gonna have a Fairy Tail's Ball!" Levy finished, smiling brightly.

Lillian looked between all the girls "Wait, seriously? That sounds awesome!" Lillian laughed excitedly, never having been to any kind of fancy event.

"I know!" Mirajane exclaimed, "It'll be in a few days, which gives us plenty of time to decorate and put together outfits."

"Oh man, I don't own any type of fancy attire." Lillian said, biting her lip.

"Hey don't worry about that, we can go shopping today." Levy said, hooking her arm through Lillian's, "I know this awesome shop that sells things pretty cheaply."

Lillian beamed, excitement bubbling inside her stomach.

"Wait, how will everything get done in just a few days?" Lillian asked.

Cana came over, smiling. "Easy, we get all the guys to help out and it'll be done in no time."

"Is that all we are to you Cana, nothing but a source of muscle?"

Jason, a twenty-five-year-old shapeshifter who joined the guild shortly after the battle of Fairy Tail, said as he put his arm around Cana's shoulders.

"Well, I mean, can you blame me?" she said, squeezing his bicep.

Jason rolled his dark green eyes and crossed his arms, smirking "Sorry toots, but you're not really my type."

He looked over at Lillian and winked, causing her to roll her eyes and shake her head.

Levy grabbed Lillian by the arm excitedly, "C'mon Lil, we gotta find something to wear!"

As she dragged her out of the guild they passed Gajeel, who looked at them curiously.

"The others will explain!" Lillian said right before she was hauled out the door.

Gajeel raised an eyebrow at the crowd of women, "We're going to throw a ball here in a few days." Lucy explained, "It's gonna be amazing, so dress accordingly."

"Tch, really? Of course you ladies would think of that." Gajeel said shaking his head. "I'll pass, I don't dance."

"Aw come on Gajeel," Jason said smirking, running his hand through his brown hair, "all us guys are going as well. And so is Lillian."

Gajeel narrowed his eyes, "I don't care."

Jason shrugged, putting his hand on his hip, "Oh, well, I guess you wouldn't mind me asking her to be my date than?" he asked.

Gajeel sneered and spoke through his teeth, "Not at all."

"Jason, why do you always try and start trouble?" Simon asked as he walked over.

Jason smiled and shrugged, "I like to live dangerously."

Gajeel walked over and grabbed Jason by his collar, towering over him as he growled, "You won't be living for much longer if you keep getting on my nerves."

He threw him down and, taken aback, Jason stumbled falling into Simon who caught him quickly. Giving one finale angry glare, Gajeel turned around and left the guild, heading into town.

* * *

"Oo, what about this one?"

Lillian looked over to see Levy holding up a large, white ballgown.

"Uh, no thanks." Lillian said laughing, "That thing would eat me alive."

The girls continued looking through the discounted dresses, disappointed in their lack of options.

Lillian looked over a green strapless dress with light sequencing on the top. "Levy, try this one on."

Levy looked over at it and grimaced, "Really?"

"Yes really, now go!" Lillian shoved her into a dressing room quickly before she could protest further.

A few moments later she came out, an awkward look on her face, "You don't think this is too… flashy?"

"Of course not! It looks amazing." Lillian said, grinning at her friend, "Besides it's a ball, you're supposed to look fancy."

Levy rolled her eyes and looked back over the dresses, "Fine, but you have to try on a dress of my choosing now."

Lillian gulped, "Uh oh."

Levy grinned as she rummaged through the racks, finally landing on a black dress, handing it to Lillian.

With a sigh she went into the dressing room and looked over the gown, "My god, Levy." She muttered.

Once with it on she looked in the mirror, shaking her head. The dress had two straps that went up and attached behind her neck, leaving a semi deep v-neck. The dress hugged her curves and flowed down to the floor. She turned and noticed how the dress had no back to it at all, displaying all of her scars.

She stepped out of the dressing room and Levy's eyes lit up, "Oh my gosh, yes. Yes you have to get it."

Lillian laughed and did a slow spin, Levy Oohing and Aahing as she did. She noticed Lillian's scars and her eyes widened, but she didn't say anything. Lillian noticed and smiled at her friend.

"Don't worry about it. Oddly enough, I like that they can be seen. I'm not ashamed of them." She said smiling. "But you sure this thing isn't too revealing?"

Levy shook her head, "No, it's amazing." The girl smirked as she leaned forward, "And I bet it'll drive Gajeel crazy."

"What?" Taken off guard Lillian spun around quickly, stepping on the dress and falling flat on her butt, making the pair laugh loudly.

Still laughing, Lillian sat up, "And what are you talking about, Gajeel and I are just friends."

Levy gave her a knowing look, "Oh come on, I know you know that's not true."

Lillian chewed at her lower lip, messing with her hands, "I mean… I don't know. Sometimes it seems like there's more there, but…" she shook her head.

Levy raised an eyebrow, "Did something happen between you two?"

Lillian blushed deeply, looking down at her hands. Levy laugh and begged for an answer until she finally gave in and told her about that morning.

"Oh. My. Gosh." Levy said, "I think I would have died."

Lillian nodded, rubbing her face, "Stuff like that… really confuses me."

"But it wouldn't if you didn't like him!" Levy said.

"I don't know. I feel kinda… weird about it." Lillian said.

Levy cocked her head, "Weird about what? Liking him?"

"No, I mean yes, I don't know." Lillian sighed and stood up, "You like him, and I can't hurt you like that."

Levy smiled, "Hey, don't even worry about that. Besides, I don't see him like that anymore."

Lillian's eyes widened, "Really? Why not?"

Levy shrugged and stood up, going into the changing room, "He just turned out not to be my type." She came back out, changed into her normal clothes.

Lillian looked at her friend, unconvinced, before changing into her own clothes as well.

Levy placed her hands onto Lillian's shoulders and stared at her, "I'm serious. Now, I know you feel something for him so please, don't hold back because of me."

Lillian bit her lip again, "Are you sure?"

Levy sighed and nodded, "Yes!"

She smiled a little as she muttered, "Okay, maybe I like him a little."

Levy giggled excitedly hugging her friend. Smiling the two girls paid for their clothes and headed back to their apartments bags in hand.


	8. Magical Properties

Hey guys! I'm sorry this chapter was delayed, school and being sick did not help. This chapter also became something VERY different than I originally intended, therefore it is also VERY long. But I hope you enjoy!

* * *

The sound of rushing water arose Gajeel from his sleep. He sat up, looking around him, not remembering how he had gotten there. He must have passed out during his run, he thought. Gajeel looked to his left and noticed, on a small hill, sat a lone tree and a tall shadow. The sight of it sent a chill down his spine. Confused, Gajeel slowly stepped forward, wary of the figure. The figure turned, revealing a beautiful woman with rich, chocolate curls and a white flowing dress. He stopped in his tracks, blood vanishing from his face. The woman walked gracefully over, a look of distain on her face, causing Gajeel to fall on his knees.

"N-no…" Gajeel said, slightly shaking. "No." he placed his face in his hands.

"Coward." The woman's voice was cold and harsh, "You still refuse to face me, even after you failed me."

"I didn't… I didn't mean to-"

"But you did!" the voice boomed loudly, causing his ears to ring, "My death and blood are on your hands!"

He frantically shook his head looking up at the woman, her eyes full of hatred.

"All you bring is pain to those who dare try and become close to you." she spat.

Suddenly she started screaming, a look of horror covering her features. Gajeel stretched out his arm, yelling in agony as the woman began melting in front of his eyes.

"NO!"

Gajeel sat bolt up in his bed, sweat covering him completely. He placed a hand on his forehead, breathing deeply and frantically. He hadn't had that nightmare in almost a year, making him almost forget the horror of it. He closed his eyes and rubbed his face, groaning in annoyance.

He dragged himself up and headed into the bathroom, stepping into the shower and turning it on. Gajeel stood there for a while, letting the cold water wash away the rawness of the dream, but it still made his skin crawl. Flashes of the woman kept appearing in his mind, his stomach twisting when her face began to morph into Lillian's. He saw Lillian's beautiful blue eyes, full of happiness, contort into a look of pure loathing, directed towards him. Gajeel's eyes sprung open, wanting to end the image right then and there.

But the picture stayed.

His hands turned to fists as he imagined Lillian hating him. Again, the image twisted into her laying inside a coffin, her skin snow white and cheeks gaunt. He watched as everyone around turned towards him with the same look of hatred.

With a growl Gajeel shut off the water and stepped out, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around his waist. He had just gotten dressed when there was a knock on his front door.

"Go away." he yelled, not wanting to deal with anyone.

"It's me!" Lillian's voice sounded from the other side.

Gajeel sighed, but went and opened the door anyway. Lillian was dressed in jeans and a red tank top, her silver hair in loose curls around her body.

"Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to go get breakfast together or something." Lillian said smiling. She noticed the dark circles under his eyes and frowned, "You okay?"

"Peachy." Gajeel said, turning around and walking back inside, leaving the door open.

She took that as an invitation and walked inside after him, shutting the door behind her. Lillian looked around curiously, having never been inside his home before, despite meeting him there a few times. The place was much more sparse than she expected, only the bare minimals around. Gajeel walked into the kitchen and grabbed a beer out of his fridge, taking a large swig of it.

"Isn't it kind of early for that?" Lillian asked jokingly as she leaned against the kitchen doorframe.

"Nope." was all Gajeel said, taking another drink.

She frowned again, crossing her arms, "Gajeel, seriously what's wrong. I'm worried."

He laughed darkly as he sat his drink down, "Nothing you need to worry yourself about Lillian."

"Well I do worry. You're my friend Gajeel, I care about you." Lillian said, pouting.

"Hmph. Well, maybe you shouldn't." he said, walking into his living room.

Lillian's face scrunched up as she followed, "Okay, what the fuck is going on with you?" she asked, exasperated. "I thought we were past the point of you being an aloof asshole towards me." She threw her arms up slightly, "Heck, if you asked me what was wrong, I would tell you what was bothering me. Because that's what friends do."

Suddenly Lillian was backed up against the wall as Gajeel towered over her, his face inches from hers, "Did it ever occur to you I never wanted to be your friend?" he asked, his eyes dark and intimidating.

"G-Gajeel…" Lillian said, trying to press further against the wall.

"You see this here?" Gajeel asked, his skin turning to iron and his eyes glowing, "I'm a monster. I'm not one you wanna be around." He grinned menacingly, his sharp canines flashing.

Lillian's stomach tightened, her eyes large as she looked at the man in front of her. He stared back, his look of anger unwavering as guilt punched him in the gut.

He pushed off the wall and turned away from her, "Go."

Lillian just stood there, "Why are you pushing me away all of a sudden?" she asked, her voice small, "Cause I thought we… I just wanna know why."

Instead of an answer Gajeel strode into his bedroom, slamming the door behind him.

Lillian rubbed at her eyes before they could produce tears and left Gajeel's house. Once he knew she was gone Gajeel let out a roar of anger, ramming his iron fist into the wall, making a hole.

* * *

"Hey, I've been looking everywhere for you."

Lillian tilted her head back to see an upside-down Simon, his arms crossed over his chest. It was later in the evening and, upon no one having seen his sister, he went looking for her. Eventually he came to the workout area to find her working herself extremely hard.

"I've been here most of the day." She replied, resuming to bench press.

Simon raised an eyebrow, "You know, you really should have a spotter."

"Well, no one was around." She said in between presses.

"What about Gajeel?"

Lillian hooked the bar and sat up, stretching her arms, "We're not really talking."

"What? Why not?" he asked, looking her over.

"Look it's not that big of a deal." She said standing up, "I thought we were close but we aren't, that's it."

Lillian wrapped a towel around the back of her neck as she took a swig of her water. Simon narrowed his eyes, unconvinced that that was indeed the full story.

"Lillian I'm serious." He said, grabbing her elbow as she tried to walk away, "If he did something to you I need to know.

"He didn't do anything to me alright?" she said, trying to shake off his hold, "Now just drop it please."

Simon tightened his grip, making Lillian look him in the eye. She stared back, her eyes hard. Ever so slightly her lip wobbled and, had it been anyone else they wouldn't have noticed, but this was her brother. He clenched his jaw and let go of her arm before turning and walking away. Lillian let out an annoyed breath as she watched Simon walk away, too physically spent to bother going after him.

She gathered her things and left the gym tired and eager to relax back in her room. Levy had highly praised a book the day before and Lillian grew excited just thinking about it, her spirits lifting at the thought of curling up with it. She made the short trek up to her place, waving at the girls who lived in the building as well, and went into her room. Once inside she dropped all her things, instantly heading into the bathroom and hopping into the shower. Not wanting to be left with her own thoughts for too long she cleaned herself quickly.

She dried herself and put on soft night pants and a tank top, heading into her kitchen and putting on a pot to make hot chocolate. She didn't care that it was the middle of summer, hot chocolate always gave her a happy, warm belly. She filled her favorite cute-penguin-mug, grabbed her headphones, and sat in the windowsill. Once she was all curled up and comfy, Lillian put in her headphones, picked up Levy's book, and started reading. She became engrossed with it instantly as it followed the story of a female assassin having to hide her identity as she tried to overthrow the king.

Despite the music, Lillian's ears perked up at a sloshing sound coming from inside her room. Slowly she sat down her book and took out her headphones, the noise becoming louder. She stood up and carefully walked towards the kitchen, covering her nose with her hand when she caught a whiff of something foul. There, in the middle of the kitchen, was a towering pile of what looked like tar and muck. As Lillian took another step she accidently kicked the side of the counter. Quickly the conglomeration sprang towards her, pinning her against the wall. She started screaming, hoping someone in the building would hear her. Her screams stopped short when the gunk slithered up her body and wrapped around her neck, cutting off her air.

"W-wh…" Lillian sputtered.

She tried shooting out an attack but the muck kept her arms stuck at her sides. Slowly the stuff around her began to morph into a closed hand, the body it was attached to taking shape. Lillian's eyes widened as the face of Mezun smirked back at her.

"Hello again." He said, voice laced with venom, "Miss me?"

She struggled harder against his hold, tears forming in her eyes as the pain in her body grew from lack of air.

"Oh, where are my manners?" Mezun said, letting go of her neck, causing her to fall to the floor coughing.

Lillian glared up at him as she rubbed her neck, "What are you doing here?"

He chuckled, kneeling down to her height, "Oh, sweet Lillian," he reached out taking a hold of her chin, "I'm here for you of course."

With his other arm he quickly punched her in the face, sending her back against the wall, unconscious.

* * *

Lillian blinked her eyes, groaning at the throbbing pain at the back of her head. She touched it gently, hissing at the sharp pain it sent through her skull. Memories hit her quickly and she looked around, terror flooding her when she couldn't see anything. She panicked for a moment, feeling the floor and wondering if she'd gone blind, when light poured in from a door being open. Lillian backed herself against the wall, trying not to be seen.

"Oh good, you're awake." A male voice said as a figure appeared in the doorway.

"Who're you?" Lillian asked, standing up.

The man grinned, licking his lips as he walked forward, "The person who's going to break you."

She narrowed her eyes, flinging her arms forward with an attack. He easily dodged it, coming around to snap two iron cuffs onto her wrists. Lillian growled as they seemed to burn her skin. She swung around quickly, stunned when her magic refused to respond to her. The man laughed darkly as he watched her struggle against the bonds. She glared at him turning back to punch him square in the jaw, sending him back a few yards.

"I don't need magic to kick your ass." Lillian said.

She ran towards him and swung her leg around behind his feet, causing him to fall flat on his back.

"Stupid bitch." He snarled as he shot a fire ball towards her face.

She dropped down, dodging the attack before sprinting towards the open door. Sliding out into the hall she looked down either side, deciding to run up the north side, hoping to find some kind of exit or even a window. Lillian rushed ahead, wishing she was in better running attire when she screamed, having suddenly been pulled against the wall wrists first. She struggled against the pull, realizing the wall must be magnetic. She pulled and pulled, he wrists becoming raw as the metal rubbed her skin.

The sound of slow clapping snapped Lillian to attention as she looked down the hall. Mezun stood there, a smug look on his face as he walked towards her.

"Very well done. I dare say you would've escaped had it not been for those cuffs." He gestured to her upheld wrists. "But alas, you weren't clever enough to avoid those."

Mezun stood close to her, smiling down at the scowl on her own face, "Come now, you should be excited." His grin enlarged, "You are the lucky subject who gets to be the center of my tests."

Lillian flung her foot forward, successfully connecting with his stomach. He let out an _oof_ , the grin now gone from his face.

"That's enough games." Mezun said.

He walked over and pressed himself against her so that she couldn't move her legs, as well as grabbing her head and tilting it to the side.

"Wh-what are you doing?" Lillian asked, panic in her voice.

He didn't answer as he withdrew a syringe from his pocket, pressing the needle into her neck and pushing down. She tried struggling more, but quickly her brain seemed to start to function in slow motion. She looked up at Mezun to see his face cold, before everything went black.

* * *

When he awoke, Gajeel knew something was very, very wrong. It was just after three a.m. and his magic felt like it was burning under his skin, urging him to get up. Something in his gut told him it was about Lillian, but he didn't want to believe it. He rushed out of his home and ran to Fairy Hills, his stomach dropping even further when there was a crowd gathered outside. The first person to notice him was Levy, tears streaming down her face. He didn't have to ask, he knew his gut had been correct.

"She's gone. He took her." Levy said, her voice wobbly.

"What do you mean 'he'?" Gajeel asked, practically growling.

"I-I don't know, some man." She stammered, "I head Lillian screaming from her room so I went to go look. When I unlocked the door, there was a guy standing there over her body. When he saw me he smirked then… vanished." She shivered at the memory.

Gajeel pushed past her to quickly run up to Lillian's room, her scent instantly filling his nose once inside. He walked over to the window, where her scent was the strongest, and he saw the little nest she had made herself, smiling to himself slightly at the sight of her mug. He noticed her music was still playing and he flipped it off, suddenly getting the smell of something nasty. He made his way to the kitchen where the smell resonated, almost choking on the potency of it. Gajeel looked down to see a slight dent in the wall and a red substance lining the crack.

He growled loudly when he realized it was Lillian's blood.

As he turned to leave he almost ran smack into Simon, who had the same look of anger and determination on his face. The two men nodded in mutual understanding before running out of the building.

"Where to?" Simon asked, keeping in step with Gajeel.

"I've no idea." He said angrily, "Go around until we come across a scent."

Simon nodded, the pair heading out into the town, eyes peering for anything suspicious. An hour went by with no leads being found, when suddenly Gajeel stopped and looked around.

"What is it?" Simon asked, reaching back to rest his hand on his hilt.

Gajeel's eyebrows scrunched as he a looked around, "I thought I recognized…" his eyes widened as he took off running.

Simon followed without question. Gajeel slowed to stop when he came to an old looking shop front. It seemed to be a second-hand store, selling rusted looking metal and worn clothing. The two walked inside, glancing around at the odd arrangements. There seemed to be nobody inside of the shop, giving the two guild members a feeling of unease. Simon quietly walked to the back end of the shop, slipping behind a loose curtain hanging from the ceiling. Gajeel followed suit, unsatisfied when it seemed to be an ordinary, dusty storage area. Simon motioned towards the ground where a rug lay, the only non-dust covered surface. Pushing it aside revealed a hidden, wooden door which Gajeel promptly pulled up and open.

Cold air rushed up to meet them, low light visible enough to light the spiral staircase the wound down. Simon took the lead and starting descending first, his arms reaching back to unsheathe his swords. He would never forgive himself if something happened to his sister. He should've stayed with her, Simon thought to himself. He should've been there to protect her. He ground his teeth together, shaking himself mentally. Gajeel placed his hand onto Simon's shoulder and the two locked eyes before nodding and then proceeding forward, even death shuddering at the looks on their faces.

* * *

Lillian woke to the feeling of cold metal on her back and bright lights in her face. She tried to bring her hand up to shield her eyes, but her arms didn't respond. Her eyes opened fully and looked down to see that she was strapped down onto a table with belt like bands.

"Don't bother struggling," a cold voice said, "it'll just tire you out quicker."

Lillian's eyes darted towards the source of the voice, landing on Mezun standing next to a table covered in medical objects. He was dressed in a lab coat, a plain t-shirt visible underneath, and a pair of glasses in front of his eyes. From this close he seemed very… tired, and much older than he was supposed to be.

"What happened to you?" Lillian couldn't help but ask. "And why did you attack that village on Cherchu?" She figured she was going to face death, might as well try to get some answers first.

Mezun chuckled lightly and glanced over at her, "Still as verbal as ever." He shook his head and picked up a syringe, a dark liquid sloshing inside. Lillian physically recoiled and he laughed again, "Knowledge, by dear Lillian. That is what happened to me." A dark, malicious look passed over his features, "Knowledge leads to many great things."

He came over to her left side and grabbed the tube that came from her arm and inserted the syringe into it. Lillian watched as the liquid made its way down into her arm, making her shiver.

"Wh-what is this?!" she asked, voice higher than usual.

"It's a quite powerful numbing agent." He said, pressing the last of the liquid in. "It makes my experiments much easier to perform when my subjects aren't thrashing about."

"W-why would I be thrashing about?" Lillian asked, scared of the answer.

Mezun just smiled as he seemed to start organizing his supplies, "For now, all you need to know is that I have devoted my life to studying magic and the limits that it possesses."

Lillian shook her head, fear gripping her as she began to lose feeling in her fingers, "What does that even mean?"

He sighed, "Everything has its' limits, even our magic. You get so much of it at a time, and if you use all of it up your body reacts negatively." He came over to her right and sat down in a chair. "However, there are some special individuals who can tap into their magic in a way that makes it seem as if they have an unlimited amount."

"My studies have yielded a few different results when one is pushed to the limits: an individual with either completely deplete their magical resources and pass out, or their body fights and finds some way to receive more power." Mezun adjusted his glasses on his face, "I have only ever come across one person who was able to achieve this." he glanced over at Lillian, "Myself."

Lillian's eyes widened, "You? How?" she asked, but instantly thought back to how he had stolen Simon's powers.

Mezun nodded, as if knowing what she was thinking. "Yes, because I have been able to acquire more power than usual, it is as if I cannot run out of magic."

She opened her mouth to argue how he stole that power, but her mouth wouldn't open. Her tongue suddenly felt like cotton inside her mouth.

"Ah, good. It seems the drug as finally taken full effect." Mezun stood up, beginning to gather up supplies.

Lillian, filled with fear, willed her body to move, realizing she couldn't feel anything at all. Her arms move slightly, but she couldn't feel the movement she was producing. He came over and tightened her restraints, hindering any future movements. He grabbed a large needle with a tube attached, similar to the ones they use to draw blood, and pressed it into her arm. However, no blood came out, just a slightly shimmering liquid. Unable to ask questions, Lillian watched as this liquid steadily poured out of her, filling a bag on the table beside her.

Mezun watched carefully, taking periodic notes as he did, nodding as if everything was going according to plan. Slowly Lillian noticed a ringing begin to build in her ears as she started feeling very exhausted. Her eyes fell on Mezun who just stood there, watching, like he was waiting for something to happen. The ringing intensified as her eye lids became heavy and hard to keep open. Even though she couldn't feel her body, she could feel a sudden sharp pain in her gut. Lillian wanted to cry out, wanted to beg him to stop, but she couldn't. Realization hit her as she noticed she's felt this type of pain before. It only ever came when she used up too much magic energy.

Her eyes widened and she glanced over at the bag on the table, knowing now what was filling it. Her magic.

* * *

"Go! I'll hold them off, you go find Lillian!" Simon yelled as multiple guards began to surround him.

Gajeel nodded and ran down the hall until he rounded a corner where two guards stood. He could hear them laughing to each other, talking about some girl with silver…

His blood began to boil, and with a roar Gajeel ran forward, shooting an attack right into one of the men's faces, instantly rendering him unconscious.

"Where is she!?" he yelled, running to the other man and grabbing him by the collar.

The man narrowed his eyes and slipped a knife from out of his sleeve, shooting it up aiming for Gajeel's heart. Gajeel moved quick enough that the knife just barely cut his palm, swiftly turning and punching the man in the face.

His ears perked up at the sound of a high-pitched scream, laced with pain. He ran towards the sound, coming to a halt when a figure came out of a room, locking the door behind them. They turned and, upon noticing Gajeel standing there, their mouth curled into an evil smile. He took a fighting stance, taking a deep breath before sending webs of darkness towards Gajeel's limbs. Gajeel quickly turned his arm into a sharp blade of iron, slicing it through the snares curling around his legs. Quicker than he could cut, the webs had rendered Gajeel immobile and stuck to the floor. The figure laughed darkly and walked towards him, leaning down to sneer into his face.

Gajeel growled, "You."

Mezun laughed again grabbing at Gajeel's chin, "So perceptive, and I tried _so_ hard to hide my identity." He shrugged, turning around and putting his arms behind his back, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have more important things to attend to."

"Like hell you do." Gajeel said, "Iron Dragon's Roar!" he yelled, the attack sending Mezun flying down the hall.

His restraints disappeared and Gajeel sprang forward, quickly rushing towards the room Mezun had originally come from. He easily torn through the iron door and going inside. At first glance it seemed like just an empty room, save for a small figure shivering uncontrollably in the corner. Lillian sat there, her skin was covered in cuts and bruises, her silver hair matted and dirty. Gajeel slowly walked over and kneeled down in front of her, lightly touching her arm. She jumped and tried to retreat further into the corner, making Gajeel wish he had ripped Mezun's head off when he had the chance.

"Hey," Gajeel said quietly, "it's me."

Slowly Lillian tilted her face up, staring at him for a few moments before her eyes widened in recognition.

"G-Gajeel?" she asked, her voice horse and raspy.

He smiled and nodded, cupping her cheek in his hand. Her eyes filled with tears as a sob escaped her throat. He pulled her against himself as he patted her hair softly. He looked down at her wrists and frowned, leaning down and biting both iron cuffs off. He palms hand open wounds from where she tried clawing at the wall. Gajeel took off his cloak and wrapped it around Lillian, gently picking her up bridal style.

"I'm getting you out of here, don't worry." he said.

Lillian clung to him, like she was making sure he was real, when Simon ran into the doorway.

"Lil!" he said, rushing over to look at his sister.

She smiled slightly at him, though it came across more as a grimace.

He touched her hair and sighed, "I'm so glad we found you." He kissed her forehead before looking up at Gajeel. "You're in charge of making sure she gets out of here. I'll take care of him." He gestured back towards the hall.

Lillian's eyes widened and she reached out, gripping Simon's sleeve, "No. Don't fight him alone." she pleaded, "There's nothing human left in him. He drained my magic. He'll kill you."

He squeezed her hand, detaching it from himself, "Not if I kill him first."

Simon turned and left the room, unsheathing his swords from his back. He walked down the hall, unsure where Mezun had gone, his swords at the ready.

"Alright c'mon." Gajeel said as he began walking the opposite way of Simon.

"No!" Lillian said, gripping him tightly. "Please, we can't leave him behind. Please."

He shook his head, "No, I'm getting you out of here."

She pleaded further, "Please! He's my brother, we have to help."

Gajeel let out a breath, "Fine, but we're waiting here. If we hear something wrong, we'll head towards him."

Lillian, seeming content with that, nodded.

Simon crept down the hallway, confused that Mezun had not already showed up, when a pressure hit his chest, sending him sprawling on his back. He jumped up in time to deflect an attack with his swords, looking forward to see Mezun standing there, a scowl on his face. Simon ran forward and punched him right in the jaw before climbing on top of him.

Simon stood over him, his eyes alight with hatred, "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't spill your blood right here." He growled, pressing his sword against his neck.

Mezun spit to the side, his saliva filled with blood, "If I'm gone, you'll never get your powers back."

Simon froze, narrowing his eyes as he bent down into his face, "Seeing you take your last breath is more than worth it." He raised his sword, ready to strike.

Simon's eyes widened in horror when his arms stopped responding to him. His swords fell out of his hands, clanking to the floor as he was forced to take a step back.

Mezun laughed maniacally, "Did you really think it would be that easy?" he asked, flicking his wrist down, causing Simon to fall to his knees.

He glared up at the demon before him as he strained against his hold. Simon's arm shook as it reached down and grabbed one of his swords against his will.

Simon grunted, trying to fight against it. "N-no…" He positioned his sword so that it was pointing at his own neck, Mezun laughing even more.

Unbeknownst to them, Gajeel and Lillian had turned the corner as this was happening. Lillian scrambled out of Gajeel's hold, gripping his hand to keep her upright as she watched in horror as her brother was being forced to try and kill himself.

Right as Simon's sword began to press against his neck, Lillian's voice rang out loudly, "NO!"

Her arm flung forward at a feeble attempt at an attack, but Gajeel gasped as he felt his magic being pulled from him and into Lillian. Mezun was suddenly thrown back against the wall from an intense barrage of water. The attack seemed to be never ending as it assaulted him, quickly filling his lungs and beginning to drown him. Gajeel's knees trembled as a large portion of magic left him. Eventually the water stopped and Simon dropped his sword, breathing deeply as he looked up at his sister who was now also on her hands and knees. Gajeel, looking dazed, bent down towards Lillian before she quickly moved towards Simon, and he her, as they then embraced tightly.

Lillian trembled as she hugged him, "I thought I'd lost you…"

Simon shushed her, shaking his head, "But you saved me." He looked back at Gajeel before pulling back from her. "What exactly did you do?"

Lillian looked over at Gajeel, "Mezun told me about a very rare bond where two individuals can use each other's magical energy." She shook her head slightly, "I thought he was just spewing nonsense." Lillian stood and walked over to Gajeel, taking his hand, their open wounds mixing "You're my carranam."

* * *

If anyone as read the Throne of Glass series, you'll notice I took an idea from there.

"carranam"– a pair of compatible wizards that form a bond that allows them to share magic. _Carranam_ is derived from the Gaelic "mo anam cara" which translates to "soulmate."


End file.
